


A Veil of Softer Light

by saltylikecrait



Series: Brightest Stars Quartet [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adventure, Character Death, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Force-Sensitive Finn, Jedi Training (Star Wars), Knights of Ren - Freeform, Lightsaber Battles, Lightsabers, Rey Skywalker, Space Battles, Stormtrooper Rebellion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-01-12 10:19:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18444563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltylikecrait/pseuds/saltylikecrait
Summary: The final installment ofThe Brightest Starsseries. After months away from the Resistance, Finn comes into his own as a Jedi apprentice but Rey is anxious to get back into the battle. Something has changed in Kylo, they can all sense it. But what, they're not sure except that he is more dangerous than ever before.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May the 4th be with you!

When she saw a flicker of light through the vents of the emitter, Rey held her breath, hoping that this time she would finally see the success of her efforts.

Lightsaber building was no easy task, but Rey had added the difficulty to the job by insisting she use her old quarterstaff as the base for her new weapon. While she had to saw off the top portion of the staff to weld on the parts she needed to convert it into her new saber, she was confident that the design would work. She had done this before, after all.

What was worrying her now was that the kyber crystal didn’t seem to want to cooperate. It had been the one she had taken from her first lightsaber, the child-sized one. Rightfully, the kyber had been hers as a child but now she wondered if she had changed too much for it to recognize her as its partner. It still seemed strange to her that a crystal had a mind of its own; back when she was a kid and didn’t have this issue, she hadn’t even thought of it like that. It had just been a piece of pretty rock that gave her lightsaber its power and color.

“Come on,” she urged it.

She was sitting inside a storage shed for privacy, not wanting to be bothered while she figured this out. Wrapped in a parka and sitting as close to a portable heater as she could, Rey really wished that her aunt had sent them to a safe house in a warmer climate. Rey even mused that Leia had sent her to Orto Plutonia as a punishment for her bad idea on the _Supremacy._ If there was any kind of world she found almost intolerable, it was ice planets. It seemed like every other thought of hers had some connection to the temperature and how unhappy she was about it.

Finn was lucky, he didn’t have to build his own lightsaber. The old Skywalker lightsaber took to him without an issue, it even seemed to burn brighter when ignited. Her father was delighted to have another student again, or at least one that felt the grasp of the light. While she knew that Luke didn’t fault her for not being able to connect with it again, she wondered if any disappointment lingered. He said he didn't mind, but doubt always sat in the back of her darkest thoughts.

Making one last adjustment to the wiring inside the lightsaber, Rey held her breath again as she tried to activate the switch.

There was another hum from the body of the lightsaber portion, stronger than before and even more promising.

A silver glow illuminated the shed, reflecting off Rey’s pale skin and white parka. Relieved, she slumped against the wall and sighed loudly as she turned the plasma beam off. A small, please grin crept on her face.

* * *

“Are you actually going to get up? Or at least, let me get up?”

Finn was struggling against Rey’s hold on him. Well, not exactly. It was more of a half-hearted attempt. Neither of them really understood why Luke insisted to start their training so early because it would be dark for another couple of hours and stay freezing no matter what time it was. Sleeping in didn’t seem like such a big deal, especially because Leia had insisted that the two of them hide out while they adapted to a new life away from the Resistance and the fighting.

“Too early,” Rey mumbled into her pillow and she drew herself closer to Finn’s side by wrapping one arm around him and place one of her legs between his. “Too cold. Bed’s warm. You’re warm.”

Finn almost laughed at how _eloquent_ she was early in the morning. “You could always put some clothes on,” he pointed out, referring to both of their state of undress. It seemed like a good idea last night when both of them were enthusiastically removing each other’s clothes. Now, even that seemed like a terrible idea in hindsight, no matter how much they had enjoyed it.

“Don’t wanna move,” Rey groaned. “Too cold.”

She seemed to say that every other sentence since they got here, though Finn would admit that he was thinking the same thing.

With a sigh, he unlatched himself from her and rolled out of bed, grabbing his pair of sleeping pants from the floor and putting them on as he made his way to look at the heating in the room.

“Should be warm enough,” he commented, then looked around the room to decide if the issue was more of a lack of insulation. He’d bring it up with Luke today.

“Are you even going to try to get out of bed?” he asked again, staring as Rey only burrowed further into the blankets, using the new slack from Finn’s side of the bed to cocoon herself. “I’ve found morning meditation to be helpful with connecting to the Force.”

She didn’t answer him for a moment, as if lost in thought. “Too cold,” she finally replied, though her voice seemed sadder this time. Finn wondered if he crossed the line here, knowing she was struggling with re-connecting with the light. He wanted to give her space to try to figure out everything, but he could tell that being torn between the light and the dark side was difficult for her.

“I’ll leave you alone then,” he told her as he leaned over the bed to kiss her on the cheek. Her skin, exposed to the air, was cool.

Then, he went to the closet in the room and retrieved his clothes for the day before heading to the ‘fresher. Ready for the day, he went into the kitchen to make a cup of caf before meeting Luke in the house's basement. Hidden in rocky cliffs, the home wasn’t so isolated that civilization didn’t exist, in fact, Finn made a point to go into the nearest city once each week. What mattered was that it was quiet and isolated enough that people would have to make an effort to find it.

Unlike Rey, Finn found that he had quickly created a routine to follow, figuring out that old habits die hard and that he did not escape the First Order without their mark left on him. The days were getting better, easier, though he found from time to time that he had to keep himself occupied if training hadn’t exhausted him to the point where he fell into bed and instantly went to sleep. But it was Rey that worried him the most. Seeing her fall back into her old ways, when she would lock herself away all day and barely seemed capable of getting out of bed, concerned him. At first, he let it slide, believing that she needed isolation from being exhausted and sleep-deprived, but now that they were a few months into hiding, Finn was noticing the pattern of bad habits springing forth again.

He pressed the mug of caf against his nose to warm it – that was the one part of his body he could never seem to warm up – and waited for a moment before going off to find Luke.

Not surprisingly, he was already in meditation. Confessing that his time on Ach-To had led him to self-destructing habits, Luke was trying to make up for lost time by dedicating almost every waking moment to the path of the Jedi. While Finn knew that Luke appreciated his company, he could sense that a part of him longed to have his daughter spend these mornings with him instead. 

“Rey still sleeping?” Luke asked without opening his eyes.

“Says it’s too cold to meditate.” Finn grinned.

Snorting, Luke brought himself out of his calm. “She’s been saying that since she was six,” he commented. “She never was an early bird.”

“Yeah, and no one in the First Order had the guts to even suggest that she try,” added Finn. It still felt awkward to bring up their lives under the First Order, but Finn was gradually learning to open up about some things. There were still times when he worried that he had offended someone with his slang and terminology, but he realized that he couldn’t remedy his own ignorance if no one told him otherwise.

When he felt frustrated, he learned it was better to keep quiet than to explain himself. Sometimes, an apology would suffice. People didn’t always quite understand that he meant no ill-will towards them, but he had been raised to think humans were superior and that the New Republic had only been filled with the most corrupt of the galaxy. His fear of confrontation made him a quick learner. Being around Luke helped because he was more than willing to explain concepts or correct Finn’s vocabulary and gaps in education but he never spoke to Finn like he was stupid or an awful person and Finn appreciated that.

“Has Rey talked with you recently?” he asked Luke.

Shrugging, Luke didn’t look happy. “She showed me her saber spear, but not much since. Looks pretty nice, huh?”

Finn grinned. “Perfect for her.”

But Luke’s mood did not improve. “I don’t know if she’s told you anything, but I think she’s avoiding me. We’re not… well, things just aren’t going the way I thought.”

“Which was?”

“I thought we’d be a family again. I guess I was too hopeful.”

Matching Luke’s expression, Finn realized that there had been something off about Rey too. “It might be nothing, Luke,” he tried to assure him. “The First Order did a number to her. Back then, she really seemed to want to reunite with her family so I don’t think it’s you. Sometimes Rey just… keeps to herself. At least she has as long as I’ve known her.” And Finn realized that almost a year had passed since they had met and thought it had felt longer. They had already gone through so much.

“She was a quiet kid,” said Luke, “but not like this. When there was a problem, she went to me.”

Finn wondered if the problem had to do with Rey not feeling like she could trust anyone or if she thought they wouldn’t understand. And really, he understood how she was thinking. He didn’t like to bring up what it was like as a stormtrooper simply because he knew that no one would understand what that was like and that he and everyone else couldn’t just walk away from it. 

But he also wondered if Luke thought that Rey was still the girl he had raised and that upon her return, she would be that same girl. He understood what Rey had gone through, but he seemed hurt by how that had changed her.

And all of this led to their own problems that Finn was worried would escalate into a bigger problem if they didn’t figure things out. He was going into town each week to talk to someone that knew how to treat patients with his problems, something that Dr. Kalonia of the Resistance suggested before he left. It felt weird to be talking to someone about this, considering how the First Order installed the fear of imperfection into their soldiers, but Finn acknowledged that his sudden fear and panic was creating negativity in his life and he was tired of feeling sick to his stomach over something minor like going to a market to buy food. He didn't have to barter on this world – just pay for the asking price in credits – but the idea of messing up or acting weird in front of others frightened him. Someone who aced simulations of war should be able to do things as simple as buying a carton of blue milk.

So, while Finn was taking steps to make his life a little more normal, Rey was doing the exact opposite, and he felt helpless to do anything to help. If he left her alone, she was miserable and hurting, but if he tried to encourage her to do the same as he was, she would grow angry and tell him that no one would know how to treat her and honestly, she really just wanted to be left alone.

He wondered when she would reach her breaking point – if she already hadn’t hit it – and how long it would take for her to admit that she had problems she couldn’t solve herself. Maybe if the war effort eased a little, or better yet, if the First Order was dismantled, Rey might feel secure enough to get the help she needed. He also thought maybe he could help her figure out a way to find someone to talk to without giving away her involvement with the First Order. The Knights of Ren were finally becoming a common enough name in the Outer Rim, whispered with fear, and Finn wondered if Rey had heard these rumors and opinions and that had some effect over her current outlook. If he heard people say similar things about stormtroopers, he probably would have had second thoughts about reaching out to other people.

“Enough of these sad thoughts,” said Luke. “Let’s mediate on something happier.”

Finn couldn’t agree more.

* * *

After sparring, he and Luke went to go check on Rey, who was at least up and eating in the kitchen. She stared out at the nearest window, out to the cold and snow outside, lost in thought.

“Oh, Finn,” she said, pushing his datapad over to him. “The Resistance sent you a notice. I think they finally made a match.” Then she looked a little sheepish. "I didn't look, I swear!"

Excited, Finn practically jumped into the seat next to her as he logged in to his message portal. Sure enough, there was a message for him, marked with highest importance.

_Finn,_

_I hope this message finds you well._

_While we were unable to make an exact match to your DNA based off the New Republic databases, we could make a match to a possible birthplace based off local genetics. The probability that you were either born or have heritage with Nimia Alpha, a moon in the Outer Rim, is 5:1._

_I’m sorry that we couldn’t find an exact match. The problem is that because so many Outer Rim worlds had never joined the New Republic, we have limited records on them and their populations._

_Best wishes to you and Rey,_

_Kaydel Ko Connix_

He looked it over a few more times and while he was a little disappointed that no match had been made to a potential family member, at least he had the knowledge of where he probably came from. That was more than he had ever hoped for.

“Connix thinks I’m from Nimia Alpha,” he announced.

Rey and Luke both smiled widely. “That’s wonderful, Finn.”

“I’ve never been there,” said Luke, “but I have seen their equine warriors in a holo. Amazing to watch.” Then, Luke paused. “Do you think you’re going to go?”

Shrugging, Finn thought it over. “I’m not sure that now is the right time,” he said. “But maybe when the war effort is dwindling, I’ll think about it. She couldn’t find an exact match, so it’s likely that this is all I’ll ever know.”

The smile that Rey gave him was sympathetic, though she seemed genuinely happy for him. “Maybe we could do some investigating,” she said. “Ask around; see if anyone lost a child.”

“I’m sure there are a lot of families that lost children the same time I was taken,” he pointed out. It was unlikely that the First Order went to Nimia Alpha and only took him. There were a few cadets that he recalled had similar physical features as him, making him wonder if they had all shared a birthplace.

“But maybe that could help us narrow down the possibilities or you could do another test there.” Rey’s plan seemed as good as any. 

For the first time in weeks, Finn felt optimistic about the future.

* * *

When Rey signed in to her own message portal, she didn’t find good news like Finn. There was an encrypted message from the First Order waiting for her.

Quickly, she logged in to open the message, hoping for some decent news from Armitage Hux. Their communications were limited and she wanted to keep it that way, but their arrangement was helping the Resistance piece together where Kylo might be and that was better than nothing. The last she had heard, her cousin had issued an order to scout a world called Zorbia for any signs of colonization. Hux believed that Kylo would go there, but for what, he wasn't sure. It was enough to convince Rey to warn her aunt, but they never found any sign of him when they made a scan of the world.

With a small gasp, Rey read the contents of the message.

_This is an automatic notice requested by General Hux to be sent out upon his death. The Chain of Command will be adjusted in accordance and notifications will be given when decisions are made._

_May the First Order reign supreme. ___

____

__

Rey felt numb. Sure, the supposed alliance didn’t last long, but Hux sent her correspondence via encrypted messages detailing Kylo’s plans, including how he separated the remaining Knights of Ren by mission types on air and on ground. She had sent a warning to the Resistance about the starfighters first, to make sure they kept their eyes on the sky and understood that the Knights could be just as good of pilots as they were Force-users. Poe, in particular, seemed to take that advice to heart.

Then, there was another message from Hux's line, only when she opened it, Rey felt her heart race.

_Hello Rey, ___

____

____

_You will be relieved to know that General Hux is no more. As careful as he thought he was, he forgot that I had eyes on his every move. A plot was revealed to me that he had planned a revolt within the ranks with the planned result to dispose of me – no doubt you knew about this - and so, he was given the traitor’s death he deserved._

_It surprised me to find his private message boxes included correspondence from you, and that some of this was recent activity. Don’t think I don’t know what you were planning with teaming up with him; it was a great idea in hindsight but neither of you could ever hide anything from me for long._

_Don’t worry, we do not know your location yet, but I believe it’s only a matter of time. It is as the Force wills it._

There was no signature, but Rey knew exactly who had written this. Quickly, she shut the portal down and pulled at her hair as she slid the datapad away from her in disgust.

She glanced at the lightsaber spear propped up against a wall behind her, as she thought about what to do next. With Hux gone, Rey no longer had eyes within the First Order and could no longer offer the intel she had been giving her aunt. But she would get a few last scraps of information with worth about the changes to the Chain of Command. They needed to know that there was one less First Order general to think about.

As much as she loathed the thought, Rey knew that she would meet her cousin again soon.

* * *

The black shuttle flew low across the sea of an uninhabited world, as smooth as the white birds flying overhead. 

The sea was gray green, reflecting the dark clouds above it in its gentle waves until it came to land. Even the sand was dark, black like the shuttle scouting the land.

“Is this the place, sir?” asked an officer dressed in a dark gray uniform.

The Supreme Leader of the First Order looked out across the sea and the towering structure that just could be seen through the fog. He smiled slightly, mysteriously.

“Find somewhere to land up ahead,” he ordered.

There wasn’t a lot of room near the structure for this to happen, but Kylo had faith in his pilot. Only the best served him now and with Hux gone, it was becoming easier to weed out the weak links in the ranks. The ones that had shown the traitor general loyalty and displayed outrage over his death had been disposed of quickly and quietly.

Landing proved to be tricky, but the pilot found a large enough strip of bare sand to touch down safely. Impatiently, Kylo waited until the ramp was lowered to exit the shuttle.

No one followed him down, as ordered. This was something only those chosen by the Force could do. He had been the one to lead the First Order to power, to lay waste to the Resistance, and seize the galaxy for the glory of the First Order. Even if Luke Skywalker and his daughter survived, they would be no match to Kylo’s power. It was as the Force willed it. The dark side burned strongly within him.

He looked up at the structure, reveling in the history in front of him and telling himself the story of how he came to be here. Snoke had brought him here once, just after he had embraced the dark side and told him that one day, he would come here to fulfill his destiny. The only way he could do that though, was to become worthy of that destiny.

The structure was ancient and in decay; left to rot after decades battered by the wind and sea. Had the Empire still stood, they might have treated this place like sacred ground. No matter, even these rusted steel corridors would be worshiped by the First Order soon. Kylo and Snoke wanted to keep this place secret for as long as they could.

He stood in the remains of an empty office, its furnishings gone, likely incinerated upon the wreckage’s impact into the world’s atmosphere. Treasure hunters wouldn’t have even bothered with this relic, not unless they knew what was hidden away.

The Imperials knew how to preserve their greatest assets and only Kylo knew where to look now.

Facing the dented face of a vault installed into the wall of the office, he mused how appropriate it was for him to rise to meet his destiny in the same place where Darth Vader fell.


	2. Chapter 2

“According to my contact in the First Order, General Hux was executed. Kylo Ren now has absolute power over the First Order,” General Organa read out loud, her forehead wrinkling as she took all this information in.

Rey had sent an urgent message to the Resistance that afternoon. The moment she decrypted it, Connix had brought it straight to the general. Leia wasn’t sure how her niece got a spy in the First Order ranks, but she decided that if the intel was good, she wasn’t going to question Rey’s methods. It had already helped them out with finding where some First Order leaders were hiding, and Rey was the one to figure out how to contact the Resistance for help, back when Leia still thought she was dead.

They would take these rumors seriously, for even though Hux’s death was a welcomed announcement to the Resistance, it also meant that Kylo was now in the most dangerous position in the First Order. Leia still had no idea what exactly her son's intentions were with the First Order, though Rey’s insistence he wanted to rule the galaxy reminded her of what Luke told them of their biological father. Vader had offered him something similar and like father, like daughter, both had denied the offers. In all his youth, Ben had not been that interested in politics and as he grew older, he slowly lost his taste for politicians, including the family friends that had been in his life.

It seemed so odd to her that her son would take up such a role for the enemy. She thought for years that they were a happy family, even when Ben went away to train with his uncle. It hurt to think he would join an organization that had committed horrendous acts of mass murder and violence when he knew that his own mother had to live in the aftermath of her own world’s destruction decades before. But most of all, it had broken her heart. Perhaps that was what he wanted the most.

With Rey’s message also came another message that she and Finn would like to come back to the Resistance to help. Leia assumed that meant that her brother would also join them, though she was not that pleased with the idea that they were coming back so quickly. Rey was not well, and Finn could use the time to adapt on his own terms, at least, that was the idea of putting them into a safe house for a few months. It didn't seem like enough time for him to pick up much about the Force.

Yet, she reasoned with herself, having all three back would be better than having no Force-users on their side at all.

Their transport landed on the fields on Dantooine a few days later. Poe and BB-8 stood by to greet them, unable to contain his excitement to see his friends again. He and Finn kept touch over these months, though on occasion, Poe mentioned that Rey would send him a message because she wanted someone to discuss starfighters with. It was nice to have a friend with the same interests. Leia stood to the side next to Han and Lando, watching the happy reunion.

“Buddies,” Poe half-laughed, holding his arms out to embrace them both.

“It’s good to see you, Poe,” said Finn.

Poe gave them a quick glance over. “You both look better. I’m glad.” Then he glanced at Finn’s hair. “I like the style, Finn.”

Almost embarrassed, Finn’s hand drifted up to pinch one of the locs he had been growing out. “Just thought to try something new.”

“Doesn’t hurt that I think it’s a good look too.” Rey winked. Leia chuckled at her niece.

BB-8 rolled up and repeatedly hit up against Rey’s calves. He beeped at her until she crouched down to his level.

Squinting, Rey looked at the droid curiously. “Your antenna looks fine to me.”

Poe burst into laughter. “That again? He keeps insisting it's bent and that only Rey can fix it.” He crouched down and patted the dome of the droid’s head affectionately. “I think that’s his way to say he missed you. We all did.”

Han was the first to leave his spot. With a smile, Rey held her arm out and waved as she saw her uncle and aunt approach the shuttle. Luke was just now coming out, a rucksack slouched over his back and he paused with a grin on his face when he saw his family reunite. He locked eyes with his sister, telling each other silently that all was well, or at least, as well as it could be in the middle of a war.

Han embraced his niece and her partner at the same time. “It’s good to see you two,” he said.

“We missed you,” Rey replied. She had regularly contacted Han, asking him about repairs to the _Millennium Falcon_ that he and Chewbacca were doing and seeking advice on how to do her own repairs to things around the safe house. It gave her something to do when Finn and her father were training together.

Leia knew that her husband wished Rey could be there with them, they hadn't had enough time together after she had come back to them. Not a day went by with Han not asking after Rey, Finn, and Luke or expressing a wistful longing to have his niece back to help him out with the _Falcon's_ repairs. She always seemed to have new and interesting ideas he wanted to hear.

Of course, Leia missed them all too. She gave the three a moment before moving in.

“How are you both?” she asked.

Finn glanced at Rey before he shrugged. “Best we could be, I think.”

She nodded, then looked to Lando as he made his own way to them. He waited patiently to give the family space before he interrupted them.

“Is this Rey?” he asked cheerfully and looked her over. “Yes, it’s definitely you. Wouldn’t mistake those Skywalker genes anywhere.” He nudged Leia teasingly.

Rey glanced at him curiously. Suddenly her eyes went wide with recognition. “Lando?”

He paused, looking at Han and Leia’s shocked expression. “Wait, you remember me?”

She nodded. “I’m remembering more now and Dad’s been able to help me work through the things I’m not sure about. You... gave me that Wookiee toy for my birthday once, didn’t you? I don’t know where it went, but I remember that I used to take it with me when I explored the forest around the school.”

Lando made a choking sound, something that Leia and Han had rarely seen him like. He reached for Rey’s hand and gave it a squeeze, looking over at Finn.

“And is this Finn?” he assumed. “I’ve heard a lot about you, of course. Been hoping to run into you for ages.” He reached out to shake his hand. “Lando Calrissian. Old friend of the family.”

“You _are_ family,” corrected Luke.

"I've heard of you," said Finn as he took Lando's hand firmly. "It's an honor to meet you, General."

General Calrissian laughed. "Call me Lando, I insist." He patted Finn on the shoulder. "I like this guy already," he said with a grin directed at Han and Leia.

“Rey and I have felt guilty about not being here to help,” Finn confessed. He looked around to all the faces surrounding him. “I’m guessing that there’s a lot we’ve missed.”

Poe stepped into the conversation this time. "You guys needed time to yourself. And you _have_ been a help." He looked at Rey pointedly. 

“Actually, Finn,” Leia corrected, “I’m really glad you’re here.”

Everyone's attention snapped to her, waiting for her to elaborate.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, feeling a little insecure about how useful he would be to the Resistance now.

She sighed. “We’ve run into a roadblock concerning Cardinal. Now that Phasma is gone, he’s grown restless and wishes to return to the First Order. Obviously, we can’t do that and we weren't planning on telling him for while. Someone blabbed to him about her own defection.” Her eyes stilted into a glare. "That is my fault because I had not given the orders to keep quiet to everyone that comes in contact with him. I missed a few people."

That didn’t bode well to Finn. On one hand, it seemed like a betrayal that the Resistance would back out on their agreement to voluntary captivity, yet at the same time, he understood. Allowing Cardinal to return to the First Order could be dangerous. If someone had leaked that Phasma was gone against orders, what else could he know?

Next to him, Rey moved her jaw back and forth, angrily and with worry. “I’m guessing this means he’s no longer cooperating with you?” 

Leia nodded. 

The desire to have him here stemmed from the information he had already given them. After Cardinal, Finn was probably the best source of intel the Resistance had and he doubted Zeroes and Nerf were talking. Then again, they probably couldn’t supply much more than Finn could.

“Does he know about Hux yet?”

“To my knowledge, no. And I intend to keep it that way.”

Rey glanced back at Finn with concern.

“Leia,” she began, “Can you fill us in on everything that we’ve missed?”

* * *

“Oh, excuse me!” they heard a familiar voice from outside Operations. “Princess- err… _General._ Urgent news from Black Squadron."

C-3PO, repaired and no longer using the red arm he had before, waved in their direction. Both Generals Oragana and Calrissian left the room. Finn watched them from where he was hunched over a console, listening to Rose Tico discuss where they had pinpointed locations of First Order holdings along with Rey. In the time since they last met, Rose had been transferred to being trained as a technician, deciding that special missions weren't her thing but that she still wanted to move up in the Resistance. Paige remained a bomber and was out on a short supply run. It was a shock to hear that the sisters were willingly separated, but Finn was happy to see that Rose was thriving in this job.

Leia and Lando returned from outside, their expressions grim.

“It sounds like some of our allies are in a little trouble,” she announced.

Everyone in the room snapped their attention to them. Finn stood up next to Rey, brushing his hand against her shoulder briefly as he waited. 

“We’ve received a message from Kare Kun,” Lando expanded. “While visiting the Resistance faction on Nimia Alpha, they ran into some trouble with the First Order.”

Finn felt himself clench his fists, but he said nothing. Luke shot him a concerned glance. Next to him, he felt Rey tense.

“This world is under occupation by the Order, isn’t it?” Leia recalled.

“Yes, General,” confirmed C-3PO. “It’s an Outer Rim world that showed hostilities to the New Republic. It would seem this had been a cover for what was really going on there.”

“How long has the Order occupied it?” Finn asked.

Lando grabbed a datapad off the table and scrolled to find something. “We’ve only had contact with them for the last couple of months, but it sounds like the First Order has been there for the last two decades. There was a rebel faction from day one, but they have reached out to the Resistance to ally with us.”

Twenty years. Yes, that would match up nicely. Finn had no idea when he ended up in the First Order's possession, but he knew that they preferred babies and young children to take in because it was easier to indoctrinate them. While originally, they filled their ranks with just about anyone, Hux made it clear when he took charge that he wanted to change things. Teenagers were often too unruly to train, he thought; they couldn’t be changed after years of knowing a different life.

He glanced at Rose and realized that she had probably been too old when the First Order invaded Hayes Minor. Her parents lost their lives getting their children out. Finn hated to think this, but if they hadn't got out, Rose and Paige would have been exterminated along with the rest of the adults.

“What would be a good plan of action?” Lando looked to Luke and Leia.

Luke only shrugged. “If it were up to me, I’d probably do something reckless. What’s my life over the lives of countless others?” He laughed. “Nah, Leia’s always been the one to make battle plans. Usually they work out better. Usually.”

They waited while General Organa looked over all of her information. “It’s open ground,” she observed. “Hills and grassland with a few towns and cities dotting the landscape. Rich in minerals and agriculture, but not a lot there for cover.”

“How are the rebels there holding up?” asked Lando.

“It sounds like they’ve used old irrigation systems and underground silos to hide out in. The population is very young – the First Order saw to that. They keep the industries running as the First Order sees fit.” Leia shook her head. “For such a small group, they’ve done well, but their tactics seem to just be an annoyance rather than an actual threat. They don’t have the fire power.”

“And Black Squadron was sent there because…?” Luke was trying to get caught up.

“We received communications from their leader,” added Lando. “Goes by the name of Jannah. Young, but has a lot of fight in her. She asked for our help and we sent Black Squadron to get intel, map the terrain, everything we might need to plan.”

“What’s gone wrong?” asked Rey.

“Kun was brief in her message,” explained Lando. “Sounds like the team got there just as the First Order launched an attack on the faction. They’re hiding underground at the moment. Not sure where our starfighters are…”

Finn didn’t like the sound of that. Not only was a group of people at the mercy of the First Order, but Jess and all the other pilots had gotten caught up in it as well.

“Can I make a request, General Organa?” he asked.

“What is it Finn?”

“I’d like to help, if I can,” he said. “Get back on the ground. We could try to make sure that Black Squadron get off the world and help the rebels there, if we can.”

“If Finn goes, I’ll go too,” said Rey.

And to everyone’s surprise, Han spoke up. “We can take the _Falcon,”_ he said. “Nothing new to Chewie and I.”

Lando grinned. “Am I not invited to this party?" he asked. "I'd like to see how the old girl flies." The look he gave Han was teasing.

"My ship, my rules," Han growled. "But if you promise to stockpile her, I might have a different tune." Then he gave Lando a wink.

Leia made an audible groan, put her hand against her forehead, and shook her head. "I don't wanna know what you two are going to get up to."


	3. Chapter 3

“Kriff, you guys couldn’t have shown up at a better time.”

It hadn’t been easy to get past the First Order blockade, but with Finn and Rey’s knowledge and Han and Chewie’s instincts and piloting skills, they slipped past their radars. As little of cover that there was, Poe had been a huge help in finding an abandoned hangar miles out of the nearest town to land the _Millennium Falcon_ in. The X-wings landed almost too close to each other, which told Finn that there wasn’t a lot of hidden space for the Resistance to hide their starfighters and transports. It would be a tricky place to congregate and plan in secret.

Even though they were trying to hide it, the members of Black Squadron were obviously relieved that the Resistance sent some of their best to join in on the effort.

“Can you fill us in on what’s going on, Captain?” Luke asked Snap Wexley. Thinking he would have wanted to stick around the Resistance base to keep tabs on Kylo and the other Knights of Ren, Finn was shocked when Luke volunteered to go. He considered them to be his greatest failure and Rey suspected that he wanted to be the one to correct that mistake.

“The First Order is occupying the nearest city; doing some awful things over there. So the rebel faction here has been planning to try to run them out, destroy their transports, if possible, and they contacted the Resistance. Problem is that if they take the fighting into the city, they’ll be fighting in someone’s home.”

“And if they take the fighting elsewhere?” Han asked, thought Finn suspected that he already knew the answer to that.

“If they take the fighting to the fields, there won’t be much for them in the way of cover. It’s just a bunch of open landscape until you hit the seashore.” Snap shook his head. “But there is a plan they have, and it might work.”

“So then why the need for help?” asked Rey.

Jessika Pava, also on the ground of Nimia Alpha, grinned. “We just need a little more _Jedi_ power.”

* * *

Walking through a tunnel that led to the underground silo that this rebel faction based in, Rey felt a little too reminded of some layouts of First Order bases and Star Destroyers. It made her feel almost claustrophobic knowing she would be hiding out in essentially a tin can hidden underground. So much could go wrong and there weren’t a lot of places to hide.

As she and her family followed Poe into the main section of the silo, all eyes were on them. Looking over the locals and observing the physical features of the humans, it struck her how much she saw of Finn in them. It wasn’t just the dark skin tone or the hair textures, it was in their build and the strength that the people seemed to hold on to even in the worst of times. She hoped he could find someone who could make a link to who his family was.

“Is this them?”

A young woman that looked to be about Finn and Rey’s age approached them. Though her eyes suggested that she had seen too much in her lifetime, Rey thought she was lovely and noticed the strength of her arms. She wore a tattered, golden beige cape that reminded Rey of the grass out on the plains and slung behind her was a bow. Uncertain as to how effective this kind of weapon would be against the First Order, Rey still noted that this woman had the face and figure of a warrior and wondered what Maz would say about her eyes if they met. The woman walked with confidence and though she was young, the entire room seemed to watch her like they were waiting for her to address them.

It didn’t take a genius to know that despite her age, she was one of the leaders of this fiction.

She held out her hand to Rey first. “Jannah."

Taking it firmly, Rey replied with her name. They regarded each other quietly.

“Are you one of the Jedi that I’ve heard rumors about?” Jannah looked around the group, eyes widening at the sight of Luke. She seemed to know who he was right away.

Shaking her head, Rey corrected, “I’m a Force-user, but not a Jedi. That’s my father and Finn here.”

Taking the opportunity, Finn held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Looking him up and down, Jannah knitted her brows together, puzzled. “Are you-" she began. Then, she shook her head. “Never mind.”

“I’m a student of Luke’s,” he explained, looking equally as confused. “A little new to this Force stuff, but I know the First Order well.”

“Do you now?”

“Escaped the ranks with Rey here only a few months ago.”

Jannah’s eyes widened. “Were you both stormtroopers?”

Finn shook his head. “I was, but Rey wasn’t.”

“And do you know which world you were taken from?” Rey could tell that Jannah had a thought or two about his heritage.

Grinning, he answered, “I don’t know who my parents are, but I had a genetic test done. In all likelihood, I’m from here.”

She matched his grin and took his hand firmly, a gesture of camaraderie. “So many of us have lost children to those monsters,” she said. “I’m glad to see that at least one has made his way home.”

_Home._

The word had an unfamiliar ring to Rey’s ears. This was once Finn’s home, but she doubted he thought of it as a home. He had no recollection of this place in a similar way to how her own memories of home and childhood were fragmented. Home might have once been the academy for her, but that was gone and all she could recall of those happier days were of training with staffs and sabers and exploring the surrounding woods. 

Where was _their_ home? The Resistance was family, but she bases were only temporary and the safe house wasn't intended to be lived in for longer than a few months, not that Rey wanted to live forever on the icy, cold world.

They would have to figure it out later, she realized, when there was time to think of the future beyond war.

“It’ll be an honor to fight alongside you,” said Finn.

They were taken to what looked to be the Operations room, a small area off one side of the silo, filled with consoles and screens. There were no tables to stand around; everyone picked a spot.

Jannah took front and center. “Friends,” she announced, commanding the room. “We have been blessed by the Force. The Resistance has sent us some of their best to help our cause. Two Jedi, a Force-user,” she winked at Rey, “and a Rebellion general. All are here to help us push the First Order out.”

Finn looked a little embarrassed while Han scowled a little at the title she gave him. Rey had to force herself to keep a serious face. Her father, meanwhile, controlled the emotion on his face, making no note of who he was or why he was there. She wished she could be more like that.

“What’s the plan?” Han was already down to business.

“It’s a little complicated,” Jannah admitted. “There are two problems. First, we got to get these guys out of our towns and then make sure their fleet isn’t in our orbit anymore. Getting rid of the First Order on-world won’t do much good if we’re blockaded.”

That was a good point. Blockades were a standard First Order tactic, though Finn would probably be a better source of information on that. Had Rey been given a shot at piloting for their starfighter fleet, she might have been more useful here, but she knew of a couple of other ways she could be of use and she would be more than happy to offer her help.

“Are there any complications we can foresee?” asked Luke. He stood in front of one of the consoles that showed a map of the landscape, trying to piece everything together.

Another woman took over the conversation. “Besides the fleet?” she said. “Our biggest hurdle will be to push the First Order out of town without bringing too much harm or damage to civilians and their property. Then there’s the fact that the grasslands around us are open. We’ve created trenches using the old irrigation ditches, but there’s not a lot to hide us. Maybe some tall grass.” she frowned.

“What else?” Luke looked concerned.

“We’ve got word that the First Order sent two of their special forces unit,” Jannah added. “Not sure who they are, but they’re strong and they have the Force.” She looked between Luke, Rey, and Finn. “Our spy wasn’t quite sure, but he said something about them calling themselves _Knights.”_

“That would be the Knights of Ren.” Rey frowned, wondering which ones had been sent. “Two of them are dead, but there are still four left.

Jannah looked puzzled again. “It sounds like we’re missing a lot of information. We aren't able to get many of our spies near officer meetings or anything. Last we heard, General Hux had given orders to increase the security around here. He had a feeling we were up to something.”

“Hux is dead,” said Rey. 

“When?” the other woman leader asked.

“A couple of days ago, perhaps. We’re not sure.”

Finn stepped into the conversation. “All we know now is that the First Order’s only upper leadership comprises of Kylo Ren - he's the Supreme Leader - and the other Knights, who he commands. I have a feeling that a few other higher-ranking officers are dead as well.”

“Why do you think this?” asked Han.

Grinning, Finn looked down at his boots. “Because Hux always appointed those that were viciously loyal to him to the higher ranks. Everyone knew the only way to get the good jobs was to lick his boots. The officers – especially the older generation – hated that about him. I bet you anything that Hux attempted to overthrow Kylo and died for it. They couldn't stand each other.”

Poe counted on his fingers. “So, if Hux is dead, not counting for any new officers that might be a threat to us, we just have to deal with four Knights of Ren and their boss.” He hummed. “Doesn’t sound like much, but I know they’re going to put up a good fight.”

“We can’t count on the First Order giving up once Kylo is gone either,” Luke pointed out. “They rose out of a remnant group of Imperials that wouldn’t give up after the Battle of Jakku and fled to wild space, biding their time until they were strong enough to be a force of their own.”

“So you’re saying if we’re not careful..." Rey grimaced.

Nodding to her, Luke had nothing left to say about the matter, but he was clear: the Resistance had to make sure they were thorough this time around. If not, the galaxy might have yet another war on their hands in a couple of decades. Rey tried to imagine herself and all the younger Resistance soldiers back in this place thirty years from now. She wouldn’t be much older than her own father now, but she couldn’t see herself willingly wanting to get involved in another war, ranking higher than the generations to come after her. Already so tired of this, she couldn’t fathom how Luke was taking all of this.

Another thought came to her. The First Order was not the only party at fault for their own rise to power. No, Rey might not have understood politics well enough to be a diplomat, but she knew her history and she knew that New Republic allowed the First Order their space to grow in strength. They had ignored the cries and pleas for help from the worlds they didn’t see as important, allowing people to die, species to go extinct, and children to be taken all for the sake of appearances. Then, Imperial sympathizers that aligned with the First Order slipped through the cracks, claiming power for themselves under the guise of trying to keep the peace in the galaxy. All of it had been a ruse to ensure the destruction of the New Republic.

Rey wondered if those sympathizers were given warning of the Starkiller weapon before it struck. A small part of her hoped that they hadn’t, for it seemed just like the First Order to consider their political allies to be expendable. As cruel as it sounded, she could not find it in her heart to feel bad for them.

She understood that they did not want to enter another civil war so soon after the fall of the Empire, but their hesitance to take action brought the New Republic right into what they had hoped to avoid. It seemed like such a waste, then, to have taken such measures to ignore everything that was happening outside of the illusion they created for themselves. Oddly, she recalled Kylo years before he aligned with the First Order saying something similar. For a man whose mother was a politician, her cousin hated politicians possibly more than he loved the dark side. To Rey, it was strange to think of someone who was so anti-politics to side with a group that wanted to rule the galaxy with himself at its helm. Or maybe, his hatred for the New Republic and the people that ran it was the reason he wanted to rule it. Trying to understand him made her head spin.

“When this is over,” Rey said, “there is still the problem of intergalactic governance, that is, if the galaxy is even willing to try again.”

Han placed a hand on her shoulder. “Your aunt’s been thinking of this too.”

Rolling her eyes, Jannah spoke up. “The New Republic? What did they ever do to fix anything? When we called them for help, they turned our ambassadors away.”

Finn interjected, “Not everyone agreed on this. Some people heard those pleas and wanted to do something, but they felt pressured by the others to stand down. Not to mention that a lot of those deniers were plants by the First Order.” He looked around, realizing all eyes were on him, and suddenly looked sheepish. “What?” He shrugged. “I’ve been doing some reading. Got to catch up on about thirty years of history.”

So that’s what Finn was up to every night, staying awake usually long after she had fallen asleep. Rey had thought that his reading habits stemmed from his problems to stay asleep and that he was looking for something to pass the time. Maybe it was a combination of that and being genuinely curious about the new world he was living in.

Tension filled the room, she could feel it like static in the air. Shifting uncomfortably, she wished she had never brought it up.

“Let's discuss this later,” said Poe, trying to diffuse the situation. Rey was glad he was here now. “Right now, we’ve got a bunch of bucketheads to kick out.”

* * *

Standing quietly in the bunk room of the _Falcon,_ Finn stared into his open bag and tried to decide what he should keep on him at all times. His lightsaber would stay with him, of course, but there was also a few weapons and gadgets he had acquired over the last couple of months. Figuring it would be a good idea to keep something for first aid in his utility belt, he slipped a couple of bacta packets, gauze, and wraps inside one compartment.

Sitting on top of one of his spare shirts, the beacon that Leia gave him on Crait was dormant. There wasn't a need for it at the moment, with communications up in the Resistance, but he kept it in case he and Rey were ever separated again. He could activate the beacon again and as long as he wore it, he knew that Rey would always be able to find him.

This was far more important to him than even the lightsaber clipped to his belt.

He slid the bracelet on to his left wrist and pulled the tie to tighten it. Now secure, he stared at it for a moment, lost in thought.

"I didn't know you kept that."

Rey leaned against the doorway of the room. He noticed she was wearing a new outfit that looked similar to the black outfit she wore as a Knight of Ren, only white and with its own attached hood instead of the cowl she used to tote. It seemed like an odd color for battle, but he liked it much better. Finn was also wearing new clothes, but he felt like he fit in more with the Resistance like this. The vest had more compartments to store things than Poe's old jacket, as much as he loved it. General Organa had also said something about side-striped pants coming back into style when she noticed them on him.

Finn glanced down at the beacon again. "Figured it could be useful later," he explained.

"In case we get separated again?" She looked at him, knowingly.

Saying nothing, a moment passed between them. Rey didn't need to read his mind to know what he was thinking.

"Nothing's going to happen tonight, Finn. Not anything we need to worry about," she assured him.

He stared at her. "Is this what the Force is telling you?"

"Actually, yes." Rey seemed almost as shocked as he was. "I can't tell you exactly how, but when I think about what's to come, I can _feel_ this battle is not going to be difficult for us. It's what's ahead that I'm afraid of."

There was something in her voice that told Finn how frightened she was. "Kylo?" he asked.

"Maybe," she didn't sound certain. "There's something out there, a darkness that surrounds him."

"Pretty sure we already knew that," Finn deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes. "I mean, it's gotten stronger. It's... I'm not sure how to explain it. When I reach out to the Force to try to see what he's doing, there's only darkness now. And I feel the Force push us all together; it wants us to. Maybe it wants to rebalance itself, but I know that even if we all left each other alone, the Force would never allow us to all exist together harmoniously."

Pausing, Finn took a moment to try to think this all through. "Yeah," he said, "I really don't understand any of this Force business."

Rey laughed. "One day, it'll just click. I promise." She leaned forward to press a kiss against his lips, one hand gripping around the wrist that carried the beacon. "But don't worry about tonight. It'll be fine."

As confident as she was right now - and she rarely was confident in anything anymore - Finn couldn't find it in himself to doubt her as he went back to packing.

* * *

The plan started with a simple idea. If the Resistance could destroy the blockade, then Nimia Alpha would be able to fight back. The problem was that most of their starfighter leaders were on the ground and the rest were far away from orbit to avoid being caught by the First Order. One starship could sneak through, if they were careful, but an entire group would be too noticeable. The best way to handle the blockade, Finn and Han suggested, was to take care of its commanding officers that were based on the world and to get the starfighter group that was currently grounded up in the air to make a surprise attack. Once a gap was made, the rest of the starfighters could try to squeeze through and take care of the rest.

Jannah knew that the local watering hole was a favorite of Commander Velos and that he frequented the cantina on a schedule that was consistent. He was the guy they needed to get rid of the most, because out of all the officers stationed here, he was the highest ranking. While the First Order didn’t pay a lot of attention to Nimia Alpha as they did with other worlds, they valued the area for the food it produced from the land and sea. Jannah bet that if the Resistance was shown to have a fighting chance, those angry farmers and fishermen might take up the cause.

With the help of everyone that knew a thing or two about strategy, the Resistance came up with a three-part attack, provided that everything went according to plan. They didn’t have the firepower that the First Order did, so they knew they would have to rely on their wits and the environment to do this.

Part one was really to create a distraction to the First Order to give everyone time to get to their starfighters without being noticed. There were also a couple from the local faction that were hoping to steal TIEs to help with the effort. If everyone was out worrying about what was happening on the streets, the hangars might be left loosely guarded or even better, empty.

“Ready?” Poe asked Finn as they stood outside and waited for the Nimians to get what they needed.

He shook his head. “Not at all. But this is the best chance we got.”

The lightsaber at his side brought a little comfort to him, though he still felt more comfortable with a blaster. It was the first time he would lead a group of soldiers out onto the field and though having Poe at his side felt like a relief, Finn also knew that some troops looked up to him as a Jedi, a title that he did not think he had earned yet. 

Poe looked out over the plains with his binoculars, assessing the area. Behind them, Jannah and her group sat on the back of equine-like creatures with thick, wooly coats and mains called _fara._ They were the best method of transportation in areas like this where grass was tall and roads were few. Finn wondered if the creatures would be anything to ride like fathers, but he noted how much smaller they were compared to the animals he encountered on Cantonica. Those creatures were bred to run, these animals were born to work.

It was dark out and First Order officers were finished with their duties for the evening, populating the cantina as predicted.

“I see him,” announced Poe as he stuffed his binoculars back into his pack.

“Then we best get going,” said Jannah. She held out her hand for Finn to take, helping him mount the fara to sit behind her in the saddle. They were silent as they kept their animals going at a brisk walk.

At the edge of the village, they dismounted. “Just remember we’re fighting in someone’s home,” she advised. They knew that it would be tricky to keep property damage to a minimum, but they wanted to make sure that civilians went unharmed.

With the horses left outside the area, they split into two groups. Finn followed Jannah up an outdoor stairwell to the rooftop of closely situated buildings while Poe and his group snuck around. Then, they took a turn around to a balcony that opened into the outdoor seating area of the cantina. 

“Looks like no one’s out,” whispered Finn as he looked around the corner and found that the chairs for the patio furnishings had been neatly stacked. They thought that would be the case. Still early into the spring, the weather was too cool at night for anyone to want to sit outside to eat and drink and socialize and rain storms blew in quickly from the sea.

They waited for Poe’s signal.

…It took longer than they had hoped to hear the first blaster go off below them.

Jannah waved her hand, signalling everyone to follow her into the Cantina.

Quietly, they traveled down a winding staircase made of the same clay material that the rest of the cantina was built from. It looked like it might have been a nice spot for an evening drink if it weren’t for the fact that it suddenly had been turned into a war zone.

Finn spotted his first group of stormtroopers and when they raised their blasters, he went to pull the trigger of his rifle only to watch a silver bolt whiz from next to him and land squarely into the chest of a 'trooper. He looked to see Jannah holding her bow and looking pleased with herself. Behind them, a few more Resistance soldiers followed their lead. The stormtroopers that remained standing upturned tables and shot from behind, forcing Finn and everyone else to take cover.

He followed a pattern of ducking to avoid blaster bolts, shooting his own blaster at incoming targets, then moving forward a few feet before starting over again. The awareness that the Force gifted him seemed to make this pattern work fluidly and far better than he would have expected months ago. He could sense when ‘troopers were approaching, even if he couldn’t see or hear them. He just wished he could offer the stormtroopers a chance to lie down their weapons before fighting them, though he knew that in the current situation that that would be impossible. Zeroes and Nerf had taken that offer, who was to say there wasn’t a ‘trooper in the cantina that thought there might be another option for himself? From what Nerf had told him, there had been far more dissatisfaction in the First Order since Starkiller had fallen and Finn had admitted to himself that his ploy to out Phasma as a traitor worked a little too well with how the ranks suddenly turned tail and were ready to strike her down. He had not been a soldier long before his own defection, so Finn figured he must have not gotten a real taste for what thoughts were really running through the ranks.

It was easy to spot the target. He had a look that every First Order officer seemed to have. Sure of his place. A feeling of superiority. There was no questioning in his mind. Commander Velos was a tall man and his stance was a little more relaxed than what was trained, but all the same, he seemed to know what he was doing and was doing whatever he could to make sure he got out of the cantina alive.

He looked Finn right in the eyes, daring him as he held his own blaster aimed.

It might be the time to put that lightsaber to good use.

Tugging to unlatch the D-ring from his belt, Finn held the hilt in his hands and thumbed at the switch to activate it. The sudden appearance of the blue blade, humming in warning, startled the officer. Quickly, he realized what was standing in front of him.

And like many First Order officers faced with this situation, Velos made a run for it.

“Coward,” Finn mumbled under his breath as he gave chase.

He followed Velos out at a sprint, dodging blaster bolts and using his lightsaber to deflect them when they were coming too close. He found that he could not use the deflection technique for as long as he hoped and when he held it for too long, his hands became shaky. It was the first time he had used the technique for such a long period and in practice, he never had this many people shooting at him (he reminded himself that the practice bolts that Luke used were only meant to lightly shock him, not kill him).

From the look of the streets, it looked like most of the First Order was out and about fighting the Resistance, meaning that the distraction part of the plan was a success.

He hoped Rey and Han could get to their ships on time. One of the A-wing pilots offered Rey her starfigher for the purpose of helping, being the talent she was and knowing the First Order’s fleet better than almost anyone else. He knew that she was hiding it, but Rey was obviously excited about flying an A-wing. She had told him once she found the speed of the starfighters to be of her interest, but that she had never gotten to fly one before and hoped that would change once they rejoined the Resistance. 

Comms had been silent since the plan was launched and he didn't know her status. The plan was made clear that the lines should only be used to announce complications or when a new phase was going to effect.

Yet, as luck would have it…

_“Base to Starbird, base to Starbird, what’s your status?"_

It was Lando’s voice crackling on the comms, as much as he wanted to be back in the fray, General Calrissian agreed that his age was catching up with him and that it was time to let younger blood take over in the fight. The moment he found out Han had gone to Nimia Alpha, though, he had half a mind to take a starfighter for himself to show up his old pal. The fact that he refrained from doing so spoke volumes, though Lando had proven more than his worth by offering some strategic advice through encrypted messages.

Finn waited for a response, his breath held.

Then: 

_“This is Starbird to base. Starfighters ready to launch. Over.”_

He almost sighed in relief at hearing Rey’s voice, but he knew that her challenge was just beginning. She had the difficult task of leading a small group of Resistance fighters to take out an entire First Order blockade.

 _“Copy that, Starbird.”_ He heard Lando's voice again. _“Starfighters, permission to initiate Phase Two.”_

Hiding flat against a nearby wall, Finn looked around to take in his surroundings. He had lost sight of Velos, but there was still time to find him if someone else didn’t complete the mission first. What they were hoping to do now was run the First Order ground troops into the junkyard, trapping them there. The walls in that area were heavily fortified and there were only two ways to exit, back into the neighborhoods where the Resistance had been running them out and out into the fields where more troops, including Luke Skywalker, were waiting.

Jannah’s intent with this plan was that she wanted to give them a chance to surrender once they realized they were surrounded, and while Finn found that idea noble, he did not think it would happen in reality. Stormtroopers were taught that it was better to die than to be captured by the enemy and they wouldn’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt for their treatment in captivity. A captured ‘trooper was better dead to the First Order, lest they give away any of their secrets. Some stromtroopers were fitted with a pouch on their utility belt that would explode if activated. Others, especially those in special forces, were given tooth implants that would poison them if bit into. Finn instructed everyone to exercise caution. A few ‘troopers might surrender, but there were still plenty that poised a threat in the form of a suicide bomb.

He was west of the junkyard but too far ahead of the other Resistance soldiers to be much help. No, if he wanted this plan to work, Finn would have to either wait until he heard the fighting come closer or backtrack to help.

The blaster going off to his left startled him into action.

Scouring the area, Finn wove through narrow sidestreets until he spotted a group of matte white armor running west. He heard their comms crackle with noise and, as he tuned in to listen carefully without being noticed, he heard a distinct orders of “Fall back… fields…” before they passed him.

“Black Leader,” he whispered into his comm link. “Bucketheads have been ordered to head to the fields.”

 _“Copy that,”_ said Poe. _“We might have to skip Phase Two and go straight to Three,”_ he announced.

A glimpse of a shadow running through the next alley caught Finn's attention. He saw the navy uniform, the officer's cap, and gave chase. Velos, he realized, trying to get back to his troops. This time, he would not get away.

Quietly, Finn stalked the neighborhood, tailing the officer as he tried to figure out the perfect plan to apprehend him. He took in all possible escape routes and realized that the three nearby exit points meant that he had to act fast. He reached for his blaster...

 _I'm such a dummy,_ he thought to himself. This entire time, Finn's old soldier habits made him forget that he could use the Force and he reached his arm out, concentrating on Velos, who still hadn't noticed he was being tailed.

A sudden yelp sounded from the First Order officer and Finn watch wide-eyed as he accidentally moved his hand too quickly and tossed the man into the stone wall to the right. Velos made rough contact with it and slid down the wall. Horrified, Finn let go of the Force and ran to check the man. His body was bruised and bleeding in certain spots, but at least he was out cold. Finn guessed that counted as apprehending the enemy. At least he was still alive.

He held his comm up to his mouth again. _"Velos has been caught, Black Leader,"_ Finn reported. _"Send a transport to pick him up to my coordinates, please."_

It took a moment to get a response. _"Roger that,"_ Poe finally responded, sounding relieved.

The roars of engines overhead made Finn look up. Unable to stop himself, he made a sound of excitement when he saw the starfighters overhead were their own and looked like they would get out of atmo without the First Order’s patrol tailing them.

When two TIE-fighters trailed behind them, following, but not attacking, Finn knew that the first phase had been a success.

* * *

In the sky, Rey felt an elation she had never felt before. It was hard to say why, exactly, especially because she was about to enter a battlefield, but she rather be in a cockpit than on the ground.

It gave her an opportunity to try out her new helmet. Not wanting to allow the technology of the First Order of her old helmet to go to waste, Rey pulled out the visor and placed it into a gray helmet with green stripes running down its left side, suitable for any starfighter pilot for the Resistance.

So far, the tech was working beautifully. Almost as beautiful as the A-wing under her control. When one of the pilots offered her the little starfighter to opt to fight on the ground instead, Rey tried to hide her enthusiasm, but she thought the pilot at least knew. In her childhood, she used to imagine flying one of these zippy starfighters, saving the Rebellion from utter defeat at the hands of the Empire. She would have liked a space for a droid to be situated, but now she would have to make do. She had no astromech partner like Poe and BB-8 and she wasn’t sure if R2-D2 would fly with her. Not that he didn’t trust her, but now that Luke was back, he’d rather stay by the side of his old friend as he was no longer confident that his old programming would take to newer tech. She had never thought about how aging could affect droids, but R2 was making her rethink the idea. Models as old as him were no longer adapting to new upgrades like they used to and she had noticed that R2 had slowed down in the last couple of years.

Now out of atmo, Rey looked ahead and saw what she guessed would be their target. A checkpoint had been set up to force the inhabitants of Namia Alpha to stay in and to keep anyone that wasn’t First Order out. Anywhere that the barrier didn’t cover, there was a guard of cruisers waiting.

 _“What’s the plan, Starbird?”_ She heard the voice of Snap Wexly over her comms, flying Black One himself with BB-8.

She thought for a moment, looking over the area before she decided.

“We need to destroy the checkpoint,” she announced. “To do that, we’re going to have to take out the shield generator and then attack the reactor.”

 _“Those cruisers aren’t going to let this be easy,”_ observed Han from the _Falcon._ It didn't surprise her that her uncle preferred to be on his ship during the fighting. If she recalled correctly from the stories he told her of his war days, Han had never felt very comfortable as a ground troop. His talents were far more apparent when he was flying.

“They aren’t,” Rey agreed. “So we best try to take care of them first.”

Something made her feel uneasy as she drew closer to the checkpoint. First, it made her feel a chill down her spine before it created anxiety that sat in her center. Rey looked around for something to give her an idea of what was going on before she decided it was best to focus on the task at hand.

She traveled with a group of X-wings, knowing that Jessika Pava was leading them, and targeted the nearest cruiser. Any minute now, their sensors would go off, alarming everyone on board to get to their stations. The cruisers had some powerful weapons at their disposal, but that was not what worried Rey the most.

 _“Incoming,”_ she heard an unfamiliar voice announce. Rey’s helmet told her that the voice came from Zay Versio and she guessed that this was a new addition to the X-wing squadrons. But her warning was just in time as the first group of TIEs came into view. 

_“Fight off as many as you can,”_ ordered Pava. _“But don’t forget our main target are those cruisers.”_

While Rey knew that everyone’s personal fighting style was different, she decided she needed to keep to her instincts and focus on the cruisers, shooting down any TIEs that got in her way. They were like pests that needed to be swatted away. It was lucky for them that while TIEs had speed, they lacked shields and were easy to destroy once hit. Rey had never liked that about them and had hoped to modify the design of the TIEs back when she was in the Order. 

Should have listened to her, she tutted. Too late now.

The TIEs she targeted didn’t take much to take down, thanks to her tech. Targeting was a lot easier with her visor, though Poe had teased her that this was cheating. She wondered how he felt to be down on the ground and not fighting with the rest of his squad, but he seemed to have believed he was needed down there more.

Taking down cruisers was a group effort. Alone, Rey could not have destroyed them, but with three other starfighters at her side, their combined targeting made quick work. They felt a rumble around them and backed off just in time to see the first explosion rock the cruiser. 

_“Three more to go,”_ Snap announced. _“About to take one now.”_

 _“They’re not so tough,”_ Zay laughed and Rey grinned, deciding that she liked this girl’s attitude.

The downed cruiser created a gap between the barrier generators. Zooming past, she saw four gray-yellow Y-wings enter the gap.

 _“Hope you didn’t miss us,”_ the voice of Paige Tico chuckled in the comms.

“Only a little,” Rey teased back. 

_“Poe’s gonna be mad that he missed out on all the action,”_ another voice, Rose Tico’s crackled over the line.

Scrunching her face up, Rey tried to get a better look at who was piloting the Y-wings. "You here too, Rose?" she asked.

Laughter replied. _"Nah, still at base. I'm trying some new long-distance radars to see if I can help you guys out from here._

 _"She's got the whole Operations room filled with wires and cables,"_ Lando's voice chimed in, though it sounded like he was shouting from a distance into the comm. _"It's driving Connix nuts._

Rey covered them as the team of Y-wings made their approach towards the checkpoint. She needed to focus on both them and the cruisers as the bombers dropped their loads. Thankfully, the Resistance secured the Y-wings from a group of New Republic allies earlier in the month. Those re-purposed Star Fortresses they had been using could hold large loads, but they were slow and bulky and required a team of at least three. Paige had even admitted that going into battle in one was terrifying because she never knew if they could get out of range of attack fast enough. During their missions, they had relied on starfighters to cover them and keep them safe.

The next cruiser was just overhead.

She drifted in that direction, taking out another TIE that got in her way and kept an eye on what the bombers were up to. But shortly after, that feeling of dread filled her again.

This time, she figured out why.

A red TIE-silencer entered her field of vision, whizzing past her before circling to get into better range. The quick glimpse of red on the body told her enough.

Koro Ren. She could not see his face behind the viewport, but she could visualize the grill of his mask and the way he sat so confidently in the cockpit. Once, she had even thought to ask him if he could help her get into TIE special forces, willing to work under him if it meant getting to fly.

She would have to be better than him, Rey told herself, for he would not go easy on her for one being one of his own. He would put far more effort into killing her than he would have for any other pilots in the Resistance.

To her right, the cruiser began to implode, illuminating the side of her viewport. Yet she and Koro did not take their eyes off each other.

 _“The last cruiser has been destroyed,”_ Snap announced. _“We’re free to go after the shield generators.”_

“I’ll be right behind you,” she replied. “There’s someone I have to take care of first.”

Circling around, Rey tried to get out of Koro’s line of sight and not to her surprise, he mirrored her movement. It was a game of chicken between them and to start their fight, someone would have to make the first move. If she tried to make a run for it and go back to atmo, she knew he would follow. He TIE was made for both space and near-ground flying. It made him a great asset to the Supreme Leader.

With a glance of their surroundings, a plan formed in her head. It would be her move first, Rey decided. She was all that was standing between him and the Resistance.

 _"You know what you're doing, kid?"_ Han's voice gently broke through the silence. Trailing behind her, the _Falcon_ drifted along, prepared to back her up.

Breathing deeply, Rey nodded to herself. "Yeah, I can do this."

With a quick thrust to the engine, the A-wing zoomed past him and Rey circled around to make a quick aim before shooting. He anticipated this was her plan and got out of the way in time to shoot back. They continuously circled each other, making figure eights in their movement while shooting. Slowly, they flew closer to the openings in the checkpoint's underside, where the shield generators were. 

Thinking back to Jakku and how she took her advantage flying through old Star Destroyers, Rey took her chance.

The entry point was narrow, but she could maneuver the A-wing enough to dodge incoming blasts coming from the TIE-striker. Taking a quick shot at the generator in front of her, she flew past it and out the next entry point before turning around to get back inside. 

Now, she was where she wanted to be.

“Let’s see if I can kill two mynocks with one stone,” she said to herself.

She flew straight ahead, shooting steadily at the generator while keeping her eye on Koro as he crept closer and closer. Just as she had hoped, his anger fueled him but also made his aim falter. He was helping her in her objective to destroy the generator.

Fingering a switch on her console, Rey waited for a moment, debating if this was the time to use the dual concussion missiles loaded into the A-wing. She could only use them once and she had to make sure she timed it right.

Koro made that choice for her as he drew too close for comfort.

Firing the missiles directly at the generator, she triggered an explosion that caught the red TIE with it. Rey pulled back on the yolk and spun the A-wing upwards and over so she could fly away from the danger of getting burned. She did not look back to see if Koro was following her until she was out of the gap and in open space.

With a sigh, she took her first deep breath since he began his pursuit of her. Koro did not emerge. Rey took a moment to feel for him in the Force, finding that the anger he had strongly emitted had dissipated.

She kept taking deep breaths before she turned her comm link on again. “This is Starbird,” she said into it. “Generator down. Status report requested.”

 _“This is Black Two, about to finish with the last generator,”_ Snap’s voice crackled.

Flames exploded under her. She waited to see if the shields would flicker out, only to realize after a moment that they were still on, though obviously weaker.

Something else needed to be done. Looking around, she tried to piece the mechanics of the checkpoint together.

 _“Shields are still online,”_ Zay announced. _“Looks like there’re some couplings on the docks.”_

 _“Nice eyes, kid,”_ Lieutenant Tallie praised. _“I see them now.”_

Rey looked below her to seek the couplings, only to watch in horror as a panel in checkpoint began to glow. Like a pulse, a wave of blue light suddenly spanned the area directly around it, disintegrating everything in its path.

Tallie’s comms crackled, then died.

“Blue Leader?” Rey tried. “Blue Leader, do you copy?”

The only answer she got was silence.

Slumping her head downward for a moment, Rey heaved a heavy breath as she thought about how quick Tallie had met her end. She looked at the synergy blasters on the docks, realizing that they had a recharging time that gave her precious minutes to get to the couplings. The blasts wouldn’t come near those, so if she got there in time…

She had to do it. For Tallie.

Rey urged the A-wing forward at full speed, only moving out of her straight line to shoot at an incoming TIE. There seemed to be less and less now that the cruisers were destroyed. The First Order could not send backup in time to catch up to them, but Rey also knew that unless Kylo got word that she was there, he wouldn’t have interest in retaking Nimia Alpha. The First Order would leave their troops at the mercy of the Resistance. So far, she had no reason to believe that Kylo was anywhere nearby.

Continually checking on the synergy blasters, Rey made her way around the dock. The couplings were easy targets and didn’t take much damage before electricity flickered out of them and they died. Then, once enough of them had been taken out, the shields around the checkpoint faded away.

 _“Shields are down,”_ Paige reported. _“I’m going in to destroy the reactor. Cover me.”_

"Be careful Gold One," she warned. "Those synergy blasters will be ready to fire again soon."

Along with a couple of X-wings, Rey followed behind him and branched off as he got close to the underbelly of the checkpoint, scanning the area for any threats. They had to stall for long enough so he could destroy the reactor. Once that was done, this checkpoint would be useless and the blockade would be officially disabled.

Maybe she would return Kylo's nasty little message about Hux with a nasty message of her own. She thought about what she would say to him with a smirk.

The sight of a TIE startled her out of her thoughts, but once she realized that it was not interested in her and not being picked up by her helmet, she realized that it was one of Jannah’s group that broke into the First Order hangar earlier. She mused over the thought of how the TIE pilots felt when they realized too late that those fighters were not being piloted by one of their own. Maybe she would rub that in her cousin's face too.

The reactor finally went down with a spectacular explosion, followed by a whoop of victory over the comms by Paige and praise from Lando and Rose.

Her cousin underestimated the strength of small numbers when there was something they believed in fighting for, and that, she believed, would be his downfall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, this chapter took a long time to write and lots of _Battlefront II_ was played to plan out the scenes.


	4. Chapter 4

Peering around the corner of an alleyway, Finn checked to see if any ‘troopers were nearby. Blaster kept close, he quickly realized he was falling behind the rest of the group and that his little detour was taking him off course. He’d have to find a way to the fields to help them, and as soon as possible. Velos had been taken in by a nearby Resistance transport, and though the pilot had offered to take Finn out of the area, he refused, wanting to continue to help where he could.

It didn’t take him long to find trouble.

A group of four stormtroopers – including a rocket ‘trooper and a flametrooper – turned around a corner right as he did.

“What do we got here?” one ‘trooper half-sang with amusement.

“Looks like Resistance scum,” said the flametrooper, holding his weapon up and aiming it at Finn.

But the stormtrooper looked at Finn curiously. “This one looks familiar,” he said. "I know I've seen his face before."

Gulping, Finn regretted not taking the transport pilot up on his offer.

“Then it’s our lucky day,” answered the flametrooper, there was glee in his voice. “He must be one of their leaders.”

Finn’s stomach churned. He needed to figure a way out of this and fast. Looking around, he realized that the stormtroopers didn’t have backup around, but they still outmatched him four to one. He wasn’t sure if using a lightsaber would be a good idea if it left him open to attack from other angles. His only other idea was to play by their rules until he couldn't. They obviously had mistaken him for someone else and he might use that to his advantage.

He held his hands up in surrender, dropping his blaster and taking care that they didn’t see the lightsaber clipped to his belt. Finn would need that for later if he wanted to get out of this alive. "You got me."

The rocket 'trooper circled him, inspecting Finn. At least this one didn't seem as dumb as the others. "I don't know," he said suspiciously. "Don't Resistance leaders normally put up more of a fight?"

"Yeah, I don't think he's anyone important," said the other stormtrooper. "Just kill him here."

Finn's hand ached to move to the lightsaber.

"I still think we should take him in," said the flametrooper. "He might be able to tell us some things."

The group argued for a moment as Finn realized he needed to come up with a plan to get out of there and fast. Any minute now they would decide to either take him prisoner or just kill him, and then he would have to make use of the lightsaber.

Lucky for him, someone had been close enough to get to him in time.

A blaster bolt flew from above them, striking the flametrooper right in the chest as the other three called out in alarm. He fell to the ground just as another projectile hit one of the stormtroopers, piercing his armor with ease. Finn jumped out of the way, hoping to avoid being hit.

When the other two 'troopers fell, Finn looked up to the rooftops and smiled.

“That’s a big gun,” Finn said, wowed and grateful.

Jannah jumped to the ground with the grace of a Loth-cat. “And over-heated. These First Order weapons are terrible.” Then, she unclipped her bow from her pack to switch the weapons out. “You OK, Finn?” She held out her hand to offer him help up.

With gratitude, he took it. “Couldn’t have had better timing,” he said.

A small smile twitched at her mouth, but she kept herself composed and looked out to the streets. “We’ve fallen behind,” she told him. “They’re already out in the fields.” Then she looked around the area. "Good work catching Velos," she mentioned. "You chased him all the way out here, right?"

“Luke there yet?” he asked. The plan was that the Resistance would run the First Order off into the fields, picking them off until Luke and his group arrived on horseback. They would then either take prisoners or do the old tactic of divide and conquer. That would be figured out as the plan went along.

“Not yet,” said Jannah. “Comms haven’t gone off in a while.”

“Do you know a shortcut?”

She looked around and then back at Finn with a frown. "Can you run these rooftops?”

Mirroring her face, Finn looked up at the homes, noting the angle of the roofs and the grooves of the tile. He could try… but he had never done something like this in his training and it seemed risky. The last thing he wanted to do was slip and fall to his death or break his bones. He wouldn't be much use then.

His boot accidentally hit against the body of the rocket trooper and he jumped back. Even with all his training as a solider, dead bodies still bothered him.

The moment his eyes landed on the 'trooper's pack, his discomfort was quickly forgotten.

Jannah eyed him in disbelief as she watched him remove the pack and slid it on to himself. “Do you know how to use that thing?”

“Uh, no,” he admitted with a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his neck. “Didn’t get to that point in training before I left.” He shrugged. “Some of the guys that use these aren’t that bright, how hard can it be?”

“Famous last words,” she breathed under her breath. “Forget this. We’re losing time as it is.”

She lifted her fingers to her lips, then, whistled a two-note tune and waited. Confused, Finn looked around and wondered what she was trying to summon. Waiting around like this was surely wasting time, wasn't it?

The sound of hoofs against the dusty ground beat like drums until he heard the heavy breathing of a creature and saw the head of Jannah's roan fara appear in the alley. Loyal to his rider, the fara slowed to a halt in front of them.

Jannah patted her steed's cheek and turned to Finn. "Hop on behind me," she ordered and Finn didn't have a better plan to argue with her. At least this time he was on the back of an equine creature, he was with someone who knew how to ride one.

Holding her hand out to help him up into the saddle behind her, Jannah made sure Finn was situated and told him to grip with his thighs. Sliding her right leg slightly behind her, and bumping into Finn's, the fara broke into a gentle, brisk lope. It was far easier to stay on than a fathier at full gallop, but Finn still didn't want to get overconfident and find himself falling face first into the dirt.

A group of stormtroopers on the ground didn’t even register them until the drew closer. The fara effortlessly weaved through the neighborhood.

"I think you know what to do, Mr. Jedi," Jannah called out.

Nodding, Finn's hand slid down to his belt, unclipping the lightsaber. Holding it out in his right hand, he ignited it and slashed against the side of the nearest stormtrooper. The soldier fell to the ground immediately.

“You're right, this is better!” He whooped.

Far quicker than they would have gotten there on foot, the fara reached the edge of the town.

The fighting in the fields had already begun. The Resistance was doing their best to make sure that the First Order stayed out in the open. Finn looked around, hoping to see signs of Luke and the rest of his group.

Poe was out leading the way, pointing soldiers in directions where there might be gaps in their perimeters. With the group that had already been taken prisoner, the numbers of stormtroopers had dwindled to a manageable amount. There were still many putting up a fight, however.

“Where do you need us, Poe?” Finn asked. 

“I really need Luke,” Poe answered, looking around the fields again, bewildered. “I thought they would be here by now.”

Finn frowned and retrieved his comm, only to find static. He concentrated on the Force, looking for Luke.

“He’s close,” he told Poe. “Shouldn’t be long now-"

And just as he said that, a group of riders appeared in the distance, led by a furious Jedi Master.

The ignited green lightsaber was enough of a warning for the stormtroopers to tell them they're time was up on Nimia Alpha.

* * *

After the checkpoint was destroyed, the battle on the ground went quickly, especially with Luke Skywalker around. Without their communications tech to rely on, the First Order quickly realized that there would be no backup coming from the sky. Suddenly outnumbered, facing an entire Resistance faction and some angry locals, the officers and stormtroopers knew the odds were stacked against them. Impossible, then, with the added threat of a Jedi Master and his apprentice. 

They didn’t have to know he was new to the job, Finn mused. Just the idea that he was trained with the Force was enough to frighten some of the enemy into submission.

And so, declaring victory, the Resistance took their prisoners into custody – well, the ones that didn’t use those suicide tactics anyway – and decided that this was cause for a celebration.

“Two decades,” Jannah shook her head with the realization. “Two decades under them and all it took was one night to run them out.”

“You’re not as safeguarded as the other worlds,” Finn pointed out, though was hoping to not imply that this world was unimportant. The New Republic's lack of action made Nimians felt like they might be. “Others are not going to have the same luck. It could take days, weeks, _months_ to drive out the First Order from worlds they have a firm interest in.”

She sighed. “I suppose you’re right.” Looking out over the balcony of the destroyed cantina, Jannah watched silently and thoughtfully as the sun rose in the distance. 

“Perhaps we could have done this sooner,” she mumbled, almost to herself. “Saved ourselves from the slaughter.”

She caught Finn’s attention, wondering if he was getting some idea of why the Resistance here was mainly made up of young adults. “Your family?” he asked.

“Dead. Years ago.” Her gaze was almost blank.

“I’m sorry.”

“My father was the first of us to die,” she explained. “He was the mayor of our town and he stood up to them. Then the First Order sent their troops in one night and took all the children. I was a baby; my mother was able to hide me, but they took my brother.”

Nodding, Finn knew there was nothing he could say to fix what had happened. “He probably was taken to become a stormtrooper. That’s where most of the troops come from. Taken away from their families and trained to be killers.”

“He would be about the same age as you,” she observed. “Give or take a year or two. Maybe you knew him.”

“Maybe,” Finn didn’t want to give her hopes up. There had been hundreds of cadets in each age group and Finn knew that he hadn’t had met even a quarter of them. Cadets were trained on different Star Destroyers, placed in different fields, and unless he bunked with them or ate with them, Finn never saw their faces. There was a possibility he had passed by her brother in a corridor, but the helmet that gave them anonymity would have prevented them from connecting to one another, to see that maybe they had come from the same place. Finn could have easily passed his own sibling or a cousin in those corridors without ever knowing. The thought had occurred to him occasionally, but he knew it hurt to dwell on the idea. 

“I’m not sure if the Order keeps records of where each recruit is picked up, but maybe if we get access to that, we can try to find him for you.” Or at least, he bitterly thought, find out _what_ happened to him. Finn couldn’t make promises that her brother was still alive. He could have been one of the faceless stormtroopers lying dead on the ground as they spoke.

Jannah smiled and placed her hand over his arm, giving it a firm squeeze. “And we can try to find out who your parents are – or if any relatives are still around. You won’t be able to just go door to door asking if someone lost a boy twenty years ago. Too many families lost their children.”

“What about your mother?” he hated to assume, but usually there was a mother of some sort in the picture, at least, from a biological standpoint.

“Dead too,” Jannah replied. “She started the rebellion here and everyone rallied around her the way I wish they would for me. Mom tried to blow up the hangars, but the First Order had spies everywhere and someone turned her in. They executed her in the square. I was twelve.”

For the first time, Finn felt a strange connection to someone that made him feel a real sense of community. It was something that even Rey could not give him, as much as he loved her. United under the same sky, he and Jannah both understood loss and the feeling of being lost. They had both lost their families at the same time in the same place and by the same people that continued to hurt them after.

A couple of locals waved her down to ask her for some advice. They seemed to look up to her, so maybe she just lacked confidence in herself and always made her own comparisons to the memory of her mother. But maybe, Finn wondered, he wasn’t getting the full picture.

Jannah apologized that she had to leave him, but she needed to help find places for the First Order prisoners to be held until the Resistance could figure out what to do with them.

He had not seen Rey yet, though he knew that the starfighter group stuck around out in space to patrol the area in case the First Order brought a nasty surprise for them. So far, the comms had been quiet, except to report that nothing of interest had happened since the checkpoint was disabled. Finn was tired, and he hoped that she would be back soon to get some sleep, preferably at his side. He wasn’t sure he could sleep until he saw with his own eyes that she was safe.

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Finn,” Luke’s voice came from behind him. “Rey will probably be back soon.”

“Was I projecting?” he asked nervously.

“Even a bantha would know what you’re thinking.” Luke grinned.

Learning how to not project his emotions was proving to be difficult. He tried to trick himself into thinking he was in the First Order again, where he had to be emotionless when masks were off, only that he needed to be this in the Force. Rey could do it, from what he had gathered, though she had her own slip ups. He guessed that years under the threat of being hurt if you made your thoughts known probably made her pick up the skill as quickly as possible.

“I see you’re making friends with Jannah,” Luke continued. “It’s nice to see you be around people your own age.”

"Rey's my age," Finn pointed out.

"I mean," Luke corrected, "someone you're not romantically involved with."

Finn shrugged. “Not sure if we can really call that being friendly,” he said. “Turns out, she and I have a lot more in common than I thought. It’s kind of nice to get to know someone from my birth world, even if I don’t remember it.” 

“Sometimes, you’ll find you remember more than you think.” There was a knowing grin on Luke’s face, though he did not elaborate. Finn found his statement to be cryptic, if not plain confusing. He was probably a baby when he was taken and it wasn't like humans could remember anything that happened so early in life."

“Huh?” 

But his mentor only patted him on the shoulder. “I think Rey’s getting closer,” he said, looking up at the sky. “I know where they’re all set to land. Maybe we should greet her.”

“If we can get her out of that A-wing,” laughed Finn.

* * *

Turns out, they didn’t need to convince Rey to get out of the starfighter at all. Once grounded, she bodily launched herself out of the cockpit and into Finn’s waiting arms.

“That was amazing!” She smiled brightly.

“I bet.” Finn didn’t need convincing. Her demeanor alone told him what he needed to know.

He was surprised to see Paige Tico hop out of a Y-wing until he remembered that the plan was to get Gold Squadron into the area to help once the barriers were down. The hero of the hour, Rey told him, making Paige embarrassed. She was the one to take out the reactor in the end.

Paige walked over to embrace the pair. "I'm glad you were here," she said. 

They then relayed to each other what happened on their respectable battlegrounds. Luke listened on, looking over proudly at them until Rey got to the part about coming face to face with Koro Ren.

Finn thought he understood why, besides the fact that his daughter had been placed in yet another dangerous situation. The Knights of Ren, as he had learned over his few months of training with Luke, had been students of his that turned to the dark side when Kylo Ren destroyed the school. All of them had the Force to varying degrees – some stronger than others – and all of them had their own skill sets that made them dangerous on their own. Luke relayed how they had been buddies of Ben Solo from the start, later acting more like followers than friends and blindly accepting Ben’s choices. The night at the school was no different, except that it seemed one of them had a change of heart and was killed along with the other students. His body had been found along with the others, a lightsaber had been pushed straight through his chest.

Losing his daughter had made Luke lose all hope in the galaxy's future, for the dark side had taken his family from him. Ben’s betrayal had opened the wound further, but losing some of his students to that evil left him with guilt. He had wondered what would have happened if he had kept a closer eye on those students and caught how their behavior changed along with his nephew. The hierarchy in their circle of friendship surely had changed, but to what extent, Luke had not observed. Until the end, he had only noticed real problems with his nephew and focused his efforts on trying to help him.

Getting Rey back seemed like it had been the first real step he had made to making thing right again, and Finn knew that fear of losing her forever still hung over him whenever Luke gave Rey the okay to go on a mission without him. After what transpired on the _Supremacy,_ Finn was amazed that Luke found it in himself to trust her to go out on her own again, because Finn still had to find it in himself to fully trust Rey again after that.

But, he reminded himself, she returned safe this time, and that’s all that should matter.

“We’ve been given a place to sleep,” he told her. “I bet you’re exhausted because I am.”

She laughed. “That sounds perfect. I heard something about a party too?”

He nodded. “In the evening,” Finn told her. “To give everyone time to rest and prepare. There’s still some work that needs to be done around here to make sure we got all the First Order in the area.”

“Do they need any help?”

But it was Han to be the one to snap at her, just coming down the ramp of the _Millennium Falcon._

“You two have done enough,” he growled. “Go get some sleep and leave it someone else. You can’t take everything on.”

Even Finn admitted that he and Rey were reverting into their old habits. He wanted time to be alone with her, mainly to sleep, but also to talk. It had been a long day.

He tugged at her hand to convince her to follow him, but before he could do that, Luke walked over to them and pulled them both into a hug.

“I’m glad you’re both safe,” he said. “Now go get some sleep.”

“What about you?” asked Rey.

Luke looked around the marketplace sadly, noting how the battle had caused it to fall into disarray. “I’ll stay up for just a while longer, help clean this place up – oh, don’t look at me like that, Rey. I’m may be your father, but I’m not old. Even Han-"

“Who are you calling old?” 

They glanced over at the retired smuggler, who was looking over at them with a glare. 

Chewbacca made a noise, but Finn still didn’t understand him well enough to translate, but he knew that it was enough for Han to shoot his old friend an even dirtier look.

“Watch it, pal!”

Shaking his head, Finn once again tried to lead the way to the vacant home that was provided to them to sleep in for the night and this time, Rey followed.

The home looked a lot like the other homes that surrounded him. All were made of the same clay brick that the town was largely built with. They were simple family homes, one story each and in a quiet neighborhood. It even looked like there was a school down the road, if it was still in use. Finn wondered if the First Order had taken possession of that too, and the children they decided to allow to stay – they needed people to farm and mine the land, hence a necessity to maintain the population – were given the finest education in Imperial propaganda and anti-Republic sentiments. 

He wondered what kind of home he might have lived in if he had been raised here. What were his parents like and would he have siblings? Would he and Jannah fight side by side now, if his parents had been able to hide him away

Rey also seemed to notice the building and thought the same thing. “Do you wonder what it could have been like if you hadn’t been taken?”

He shook his head, not because he hadn’t wondered, but because he knew that there was no point of thinking about what-ifs. “Rey,” he said, “being in the First Order hadn’t been great, but I got to meet you and I might not have if I was raised here. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

She stopped in her tracks, opening and closing her mouth as if she wanted to say something but words eluded her. Instead, she opted to catch up to Finn and wrap her arms around his waist, pressing her front to his back in a hug.

“It seems nice here,” she said. “When this place gets fixed up, I wouldn’t mind returning here, if you want to.”

Finn nodded. “Yeah, a visit from time to time would be nice. I’d really like to give trying to find a relative a shot.”

Pausing, Rey sighed. "Or maybe something a little more permanent," she suggested.

Equally shocked as she was a moment before, Finn looked around the neighborhood and agreed that he could see himself living with Rey here, at least for a while. He had never given the thought of settling down on his birth world, thinking Rey would want to stay close to her family and maybe help her father try to rebuild the Jedi Order.

But he could envision a home here, a small one. Rey had never brought up children and Finn wasn’t sure when or if he’d ever be ready for that. He was certain that Rey had similar thoughts, believing herself to be too unstable to raise a child without the threat of damaging it in some way. “Broken people can be hard to fix,” he recalled her whispering to herself one day, not meaning to overhear her. None of her family members had ever brought up the topic either.

It would be something to wait on and figure out later, he supposed. They were still in a war, after all.

He showed them inside the house where they would sleep in, noting the sparse furnishings. Flat mattresses had been laid out on the floor for them by a neighbor, along with neatly woven blankets and a couple of flat pillows. 

They arranged the mattresses to be pressed together and both of them arranged the blankets and pillows to their preference before Rey leapt into hers to get comfortable and fell asleep quickly.

Finn thought he would be too wired to sleep after the battle, but his tired brain surprised him.

* * *

It started with a feeling that he was being followed, continuing into feelings of paranoia. 

Luke made it easier for the cleanup in the marketplace to happen, using the Force had more perks than fighting off the dark side or using lightsabers, which showed here. He helped the vendors lift heavier objects up and move things back into place with little effort. It was the least he could do to help these people.

His intuition told him that the Resistance’s victory here had not gone unnoticed by the First Order, especially not to their Supreme Leader. Rey had already found out that Kylo could seek her out one way and Luke was hoping not to find out that his nephew had learned something more sinister through the dark side. 

Unfortunately, something told him that was exactly what happened. It was difficult to explain, even to himself, but Luke could feel that Kylo's darkness wasn't just his own anymore. It was powerful and all-encompassing, threatening to drown the galaxy in endless night. 

Somehow, Luke knew that Kylo was watching them now, and it didn’t take a close family member to know that what he saw angered him.

Luke needed to tell his sister.

He went to where the _Millennium Falcon_ was stationed in a nearby field, now safe to be out in the open. Han was a little surprised to see him there so soon, but he seemed to know that Luke wasn’t there for a visit and vacated the cockpit to give him space.

There were no open comms to the Resistance’s main base. Only encrypted messages would be allowed through and Luke knew he had to make it brief. He entered his credentials to get a message started and paused a moment to think of what he would say.

_Leia-_

_No threats of the First Order on our end. Area seems safe for now._

_Ben knows we’re here. He’s angry. There's something else, but I don't know how to explain it. I think maybe he's found something to help him. Maybe you can feel it too._

_This war will be over soon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going on a weekend trip, so I decided to post this chapter a day early so I wouldn't have to wake up at 5am to post it!


	5. Chapter 5

Rey drifted out in space in the cockpit of the borrowed A-wing again. She stared out into the comforting blackness of space as she waited for further orders. Already, she had been out here for a few hours and there wasn't a lot to do to pass the time.

This time, she had the entirety of Black Squadron with her, among a few others. She glanced out of her side viewports, noting how to her left, she could see BB-8 tilt his head back and forth, fearful of what might emerge from the darkness of open space.

While on earlier reconnaissance, Captain Wexley had spotted a lone TIE-striker, similar to the one that Kylo had flown. Rey realized this when the craft was described and put out the warning that all pilots should be on alert. A comfort to her was now that she was out here, she didn't sense Kylo's presence. The link between them may have been severed ages ago, but Rey shared a connection with her cousin that she knew could never be destroyed until one of them was dead. She could always feel in the Force whenever he was close, even if she had not been aware of it before. When she was a Knight, this connection used to frighten her because if she could sense her master, surely he could sense her too. Now, the connection was burdensome and a reminder of everything that had gone wrong in her life.

What worried her was that there had been reports of two Knights of Ren in the area before the Battle of Nimia Alpha, but only one had been accounted for. Keiya Ren was still alive and she was someone that Rey worried about too. A master assassin. She could creep upon a creature with even the most keen of hearing and not be detected until it was too late. Hux had even employed her a few times when Snoke was still alive.

She volunteered to go up with the rest of the starfighter squadron, one because she wanted to be there on the chance it really was Kylo out there, and two, because she wanted another chance to fly the A-wing again. The thought of getting behind this beautiful starfighter made her giddy.

Finn had been nervous when she told him that she wanted to go back out to help with the search; he didn’t like to fly and didn’t know how to pilot anything beyond a speeder, but had the starfighters carried more than one passenger, he would have gone in a heartbeat. As steadfast as he was on the battlefield, she would never doubt him to fail her in the sky.

“I don’t want you to face him alone,” he had told her.

After she pointed out to him that she wouldn’t be alone with all the other pilots around her, she realized what Finn had meant. He didn’t want her to face Kylo alone because the last time they had faced off, she almost did not survive the encounter, though she reminded herself that on the _Supremacy,_ Kylo and Snoke had purposely weakened her over a period of a few days. On Starkiller, a few days prior to that, she had the chance to kill Kylo and she regretted not doing that. If Finn were with her, then it would be two – though Finn insisted that he should only be counted as _half_ as he was – Force-users against one and that would be far better odds than before.

But now that she was here, she was aware that Finn wouldn’t have been a lot of help other than the extra boost of emotional support. There was _something_ in the Force, but it was not Kylo. 

If she was correct, that would mean that she would face another Knight of Ren less than three days after the last one.

The further and longer the squad drifted, the stronger the phantom sensation became. It clawed at her insides, placing her on edge.

“I sense something,” she warned Poe through her comm link.

_“Sense...?”_ he began. _“Like, Force-sense?”_

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Poe. Force-sense. There’s something around here, but I can’t figure out where.”

Poe opened his comms to everyone. _“Keep an eye out for movement. If the First Order sent anyone to scout the area, we need to find them before they report back.”_ He paused for a moment. _“Anyone got any ideas on the best way to look for something trying to stay hidden?”_

Suddenly, an excited voice piped up. _“Oh! Me! I know!”_

Rey could imagine Poe’s groan on the other line. _“Permission to speak granted, Kaz.”_

Kazuda Xiono wasn’t exactly a new recruit, but he was new to the starfighter team. She didn’t know a lot about the excitable teen, but it sounded like he had been established as a spy for the Resistance and that he had come into contact now and then with the First Order and their associates. At first, Rey didn’t believe that he was a spy, at least, not a good one, but Poe insisted that he had given the Resistance a decent amount of intel before she and Finn had ever stepped foot on base. On the plus side, Kaz had been trained to fly in the New Republic’s own academy and had quite a bit of talent boosting him, and he was dedicated to defeating the First Order more than ever before now that he knew that his family died when the Hosnian system was destroyed. He also proved his worth by pulling together a group on a fueling platform for the Resistance, though it was no secret that Kaz felt like he failed when a friend of his left to join the First Order. The talk around base was that he felt responsible for that betrayal and put it twice the effort in hopes that one day he could make things right again.

_“Right!”_ There was am awkward pause. _“I heard that the First Order was working on cloaking tech for their starfighters,”_ Kaz reported. 

_“Why would the First Order want to waste expensive tech on TIEs?”_ Jess crackled on another line.

Rey was caught in her own thoughts. She had been the one to recommend that tech be developed, and she was waved away by her masters, ordered to stay out of the business of the starfighter fleet. They had insisted that she did not belong there and still put her ideas into fruition.

She regretted ever trying to please them.

Did their new Supreme Leader give the OK to develop the tech just to spite her? It would be just like Kylo to take her ideas and slap her on the face with them; she doubted he had come up with the idea himself.

The comms crackled again, and she realized that Poe had been talking to her.

“Sorry,” she answered. “Lost in thought.”

_“I was wondering if you know of anything to back this up?”_ Poe repeated himself.

“Yeah, I do,” she growled. “They stole my idea.”

The silence that followed that statement told Rey that she might have been better to keep quiet, or at least had selected her wording better. It had all come out in a display of emotion.

“I might have given them the idea once,” she explained. “When I was hoping to lead their starfighter corps. They wouldn’t let me on.”

_“Wait,”_ said Kaz, _“you were with the First Order? I thought you were a Skywalker?”_

_“Kaz-"_ Poe warned.

Just before the newest member of Black Squadron could answer, a group of TIEs zoomed past them.

_“What was that?”_ Kaz squeaked.

_“Trouble,”_ answered Poe. _“Rey, can you cover me?”_

“Sure." She followed behind him.

She thought it was strange that the TIEs had not noticed them, but when she looked down at her coordinates, Rey noted that they were entering the barrier between the Outer Rim and unexplored space. The Unknown Regions were not new to her, but this area of it was. Likely, the First Order was not expecting a group of Resistance starfighters to come all the way out here.

They were hiding something.

Accelerating through the darkness of space, Rey and Poe tailed the TIEs while keeping their distance to not set off their radars. Rey had a good idea on how far back they needed to stay and Poe followed her lead. Her helmet’s tech came in handy again because she was not sure if she could see the TIEs from such a faraway distance without it.

_“Are you sensing anything?”_ Poe asked, his tone a little shaky. Rey could understand the feeling, something wasn’t right about the area. The only thing she could say for sure was that the man she was looking for wasn't here.

“Yes, but it’s not Kylo.”

Poe seemed relieved by that. Thinking of the last time he had met Kylo, she didn't blame him.

They drifted for a few more minutes before the TIEs broke their pattern, signaling an approach. It just took another moment to see what exactly they were coming up to.

_“Kriff,”_ Poe shouted.

Indeed.

_“Did you know?”_ he demanded.

“Not about this,” she answered him honestly.

Being built into yet another planet’s core, was another Starkiller Base. And Rey was not lying when she said she had no idea about this place; she had told her aunt all she knew about weapons development, explaining that there were some things that the First Order kept hidden from one group or not the other. Sometimes, she did not understand their communication protocol though she saw the perk of such a system making it easier to cover their failings when something went wrong. That was what Finn suspected had happened when they defected. There were no announcements, no bounties on their heads, and many stormtroopers did not seem to know who Finn was. Zeroes had been the only one in his squadron to remember FN-2187 after he had been assigned to the _Supremacy,_ and even he had no idea of Finn’s defection until he saw the video that was used to remove Phasma from the quotation.

_“We need to tell Leia,”_ Poe said. He opened his comms. _“Snap, can you come to our coordinates? We need your expertise.”_

On the other end of the comm link, she could hear Captain Wexley chuckling. _“My_ expertise? _You flatter me, Poe. What, never seen an asteroid before?”_

_“Just get out here, Snap,”_ Poe ordered. _“And don’t get caught.”_

They had to wait until Wexley arrived to see the construction for himself. Upon taking the sight in, Snap swore under his breath.

_“Another one?”_ he muttered. _“These things aren’t cheap!”_ Then he told Rey and Poe to wait on him while he made a round of the planet to get data to send back to the Resistance.

_“OK,”_ he reported back. _“Not good that another one of these is out there, but this time we at least know about it and it’s not even close to being finished yet.”_

Which meant, Rey thought, there was still time to make things right.

“We’ll have to blow it up again,” she said. “Or…”

_“Or…?”_ Poe prompted.

She sighed. “Or we bring an end to this war and stop the construction.”

_“Easier said than done,”_ said Snap. 

It was true, but as she gazed out to the construction of the second Starkiller, she knew that the galaxy had no other options. Either they took care of this head-on or face annihilation once more. She couldn't speak for everyone, but Rey knew that she wouldn't stand around this time and allow the latter to happen again.

* * *

Slamming his fist against the arm of the throne in the Supreme Leader’s chamber, he almost instinctively reached for his lightsaber to ignite it and destroy whatever was close by, a force of habit, really. Yet in this case, he would not feel so bad if he struck down another human, especially one that deserved it.

“How many?” Kylo demanded of Mitaka, who was standing meters away from him, visibly trembling.

The Lieutenant winced before he spoke, “T-thirty-seven, sir.”

“And has anyone gone after them?” Kylo growled. “Traitors deserve to be made into an example.”

“We have sent a team of special forces after the defectors, but they will be outnumbered. Now that Hux is gone-"

The mention of that name fueled the Supreme Leader’s anger further. He stood up, this time, unclipping the lightsaber from his belt and pointed it at Mitaka without activating it. A warning.

“I’ll do it myself,” he said, noticing how his voice sounded under the mask at the moment. It was noted with a quiet rage, making him all the more feared. “Have someone prep a shuttle for me. I’ll show anyone that dares to defy me what happens to traitors.”

Marching out of the throne room, Kylo’s thoughts swam with all of his recent choices and how perhaps he should have kept Hux alive and forced him to side with him. It had already been clear that many of the stormtroopers and officers had been dedicated to the younger Hux, as they had not hesitated to draw their weapons against Kylo when their preferred leader commanded it, but the fallen general’s plan had been set up for failure from the beginning. Ever since Kylo figured out _who_ Hux had been feeding tidbits of information to, his life had been marked for being cut short. It didn’t take a genius to also guess that Hux had been planning something else to put Kylo out of power.

_He is of no matter to us anymore,_ a cool voice whispered in his ear. _That is the past and the past is dead._

But Hux had sided with Rey, an obvious ploy to pitch two Force-users against each other and Kylo wanted to laugh over the thought that his cousin could ever defeat him without help. She had given up her chance to be one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy and each subsequent encounter had proven that she was not strong enough to stop him. Sure, she had cornered him in the forest of the imploding Starkiller Base, but he had been shot only minutes before by the savage Wookiee that he had once been forced to call family. Then, if he hadn’t felt it in his heart to spare her during their last encounter, Kylo would have killed Rey, who was far too weak physically to defeat him in combat and far too weak mentally to understand how choosing his side would have been the best thing for her. At least, he told himself, there was something good that came out of her still being alive.

He should have killed her that day. It was a weakness on his part that led to the real threat, for Luke Skywalker had finally entered the battle. It was his weakness that he hoped he could have continued pursuing his plans for her. The dark side chose him and he chose her to bring his initial plans into fruit. With Rey's defection, he had to slightly alter his course. She was not as compliant as he hoped she would be, and that meant he had to improvise until a solution to his current situation was found.

_Weakness, perhaps,_ the voice said again. _But the Force was testing you then and you proved yourself. We might still be able to make our plan work._

Kylo could feel his body grow weaker by the day now that it was no longer his own. He needed to act, and fast.

Thinking about all this as he boarded the shuttle, Kylo gave the order to tail the defectors that had been detected. It was a trip that took longer than he had patience for, but it was necessary.

“Sir,” one of the technicians called. “We are approaching their ship. Your orders?”

Looking over the transport full of defectors, he reached into the Force and sensed their fear. They had not yet gotten whim of the shuttle tailing them and they were already terrified. It was brave of them to defy their Supreme Leader, but stupid. A few smart ones probably knew this.

“We’ll board,” Kylo decided. “I’ll handle the rest. Get the lower cells ready; I’m sure we’ll be bringing back at least a dozen.”

Well, the ones that wouldn’t fight back. He was curious to see how many would bravery stand up in the face of the Supreme Leader. Most of them would realize the moment they looked death in the eyes that they had made a grave mistake.

When the exterior doors of the transport were forced open, Kylo strode on confidently.

Igniting like fire, flickering and threatening, the lightsaber illuminated the dark transport.

Too late to prepare them fight back, the defectors panicked. Hearing their screams pleased the dark side and the Supreme Leader. The Force purred in contentment. 

Not surprisingly, his lightsaber's glow was met by a pair of flickering rods, hissing with electricity and sparking with warning. At least someone had the resolve to try to fight back, Kylo smirked. She would be somewhat of a challenge, being a Knight of Ren and all.

From underneath the mask, tempered and repaired with red filler, no one could see Kylo's grin as he end the lives of a few powerless and cowardly traitors.

* * *

Finn stood outside of the balcony of the cantina, now clean and free of rubble. The air was cool against his skin and he realized that the town was not that far from the coast. Staring out at the sunset as it bathed the town in bright red and pink hues, he found himself lost in thought, troubled by the latest finding made by the Resistance. He hoped that Poe would finish up his patrol soon and return to the ground. They had so much to talk about.

Another Starkiller…

This bothered him, though he wondered if he should have been surprised by the discovery at all. It was never formally announced when major developments were being made, such as Starkiller, but everyone in the First Order knew that there were plenty of secrets hidden out in the Unknown Regions that only a handful of people were privy to. It shouldn’t shock him that Hux wanted a second system-killer built. He could cover more distance around the galaxy and ensure that he held the threat of extinction over his enemies.

But if there was a second Starkiller, just what else was out there?

“Credit for your thoughts?” A voice behind him interrupted.

He looked behind him to find Jannah smiling and leaning against the cantina’s door frame. She moved away to get closer to him.

"Just got a lot on my mind," he told her with a slight smile. But just as he was about to ask her about her thoughts on the new weapon, another thing sprang to mind. Back during the battle, why had she been so behind from all the others if she was leading the group? She had been alone and seemed to know exactly where Finn was and that he was in trouble.

“Jannah,” he began. “Back in the battle, how did you know to find me in the alley?” It had been on his mind for a while, but with the cleanup effort and wanting to spend time with Rey, he hadn’t found time to speak her about it. 

“I… I don’t know.” She looked like she was searching for the right words. “I felt someone was calling out to me, but I wasn’t sure who, just that I _needed_ to help them. Then I followed that feeling and found you cornered by those stormtroopers.”

“Glad you did.” Finn smiled. “Thought I was toast.”

“Is that the Force?” she asked, looking at him curiously. “My mother once told me the Force connected us all and that some people can feel the emotions of others.”

“Rey and I have that, but she can feel the emotions of others the way I can’t,” he explained. His lessons echoed in his head. He thought back to how Luke had once told him of the time he lost his hand to Darth Vader on Bespin, moments after he had found out the Sith lord was his father. Desperate and in pain, he reached out to Leia in the Force, knowing somehow that they shared a deeper connection than what a typical friendship might create. His connection with Leia had saved his life that day.

Then, a year later, Luke had pieced together that the connection wasn’t just coincidental, it was familial too. He had no idea he had a sister, but when his master told him that there was another Skywalker child out in the galaxy, he immediately knew who.

Every time Finn looked at Jannah he felt a sense of familiarity, even if they had never met before. She reminded him of what he never had and everything he would like to have in a time hopefully not far from now.

Finn wondered if he too had connected to someone that was more than just an ally on the battlefield. 

“I was wondering… well, you had a brother that would be my age, right?” He was nervous to bring the subject up, knowing how the thought of her entire family being lost to the hands of the First Order hurt.

Instead, she didn't look troubled by this, and she nodded in confirmation.

Not sure if this was appropriate or not to discuss to a new acquaintance, Finn allowed his gut to lead him. “I… would you be willing to do a DNA comparison with me later?”

Her eyes widened, and she stared closely at his face, as if she were trying to take in the smaller details. She was, dare he say it, hopeful? 

“Of course!” she told him. “But Finn, are you sure?”

“Only one way to find out. I’ve heard about something like what happened between us before. The Force links us all together, but sometimes we share stronger bonds with people that we have a personal connection to."

Jannah placed her hand firmly on his arm. “You are still family, even if we aren't by blood. You were born here and will always be welcome here. Rey too. I would like to get to know the two of you.”

Rey was home, but Jannah and Nimia Alpha made him consider the possibility of making the rolling fields and the scent of salt air a physical home. Ever since Rey had suggested that they think about settling here, he thought about the possibility as he walked around the streets and helped with the clean up. It seemed like it would be a nice place to live.

"We'd like to get to know you too," he told Jannah honestly. 

The smile she gave him was warm, welcoming. It felt like looking at a real home for the first time.

* * *

The nightmares had returned, but these were not the same one she had back in the First Order. They felt real again, but she knew it was impossible. These felt more like the images she mistook for visions back when Snoke bridged her mind with her cousin's. 

A silver glow illuminated the dark chamber. The durasteel paneling, reflecting the plasma beam's light made it obvious that this was the territory of the First Order. Everything seemed darker in their world, uniform and cold. Poised to the ground, knees bent and ready to strike, she moved quickly to the side to avoid the flickering red blade of her enemy.

This was where they would decide the fate of the galaxy and though both of them had so much to fight for, Rey knew that neither she or Kylo Ren would walk away from this alive. He grinned at her, and she noticed his eyes glowing like amber caught in the sunlight. A cloak of darkness followed him.

That darkness quickly left his side and surrounded her, whispering its intent to consume her. Rey reached for the light, but found she could not find it.

There was only one more chance for her to make this right.

She made a quick turn to doge Kylo's strike, arcing her spear around and pushing forward in a stabbing moment. At the same instance, her cousin also lunged toward her.

Relieved as she was to see the beam run through his lower chest, she did not register the pain until she realized that the darkness had hold of her. Her heart raced and as much as she wanted to escape the moment, she couldn't. She was drowning and no one was there to help her out. Even as her cousin's went slack against her spear, she couldn't get away.

The world around her began to vanish, spotting and blurring, before her sight when black.

This must be what death is like, she thought.

Finally, she found she could open her eyes.

It was no longer light outside was the first thing she noticed, followed by her heart still pounding in her chest. Reaching behind her, she found the other mattress was vacant and realized it couldn't be that late if Finn wasn't here. He must be still out working with the locals and she admitted to herself that even in such a chaotic time, Finn finally seemed to have discovered more of a purpose beyond stopping the First Order. Helping others had always been his first priority, that was the first thing about him that she fell in love with.

As she walked over to the basin to wash the sweat off her skin with a cloth, Rey wondered how long she had left to enjoy this life with him. Even amid a war, she found herself happy to know that every night he was by her side. If this dream was a vision, then she might not have a lot of time left and she didn't want to tell anyone in case it caused them to worry about her.

What she needed right now was Finn. That was all she needed.

Luckily, she didn’t have to look far. He walked through the door with a large woven bag hanging off of his arm, smiling at her as she appeared in the hallway.

“Hey, brought us some food,” he said, holding up the bag cheerfully. “I thought we could try eating on the balcony. It’s not very cold out and the stars are beautiful.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?” asked Rey.

He shrugged. “Thought I should let you sleep.”

Rey curiously peeked into the bag. “Smells good,” she said. “What is it?”

“It’s a stew." He placed the bag down and removed two covered bowls. “Made from the local harvest. Winter root vegetables, mainly. Might be some meat in it.”

She hummed as she gratefully took one of the bowls from Finn and immediately went about consuming it. If there was meat in it, she couldn’t tell. Everything in it had been cooked so tenderly that it practically melted in her mouth, but it was so good and she would be happy eating the stew for the rest of her life if she had no other options.

That was when she noticed a strange pack lying on the floor near the entryway. “What’s that,” she asked Finn, certain it had not been there before.

Finn looked to where she was pointing and the grinned. “Oh, that? That’s a jetpack.”

“What?" She glanced at it again in alarm. "Is that safe to have in here?”

“I think so…?” said Finn, though he didn't seem certain. “I wanna hold on to it for now.”

Moving over to get a better look at it, what she found didn't make her feel better. “This is a stormtrooper jetpack,” she observed, running her fingers over the black First Order insignia on the side.

“Yeah, got the idea back on the battlefield. Figured I could make some use of this." He winked.

Frowing, Rey stared at him. "You're going to keep it?" It was just like Finn to try something this reckless, but Rey wasn't going to let him break his neck doing something stupid like fly a jetpack around a battlefield with no experience.

Scratching his neck sheepishly, Finn grinned again. "Well, I've seen Mandalorians use packs like these while fighting in holos," he explained. "Thought it was an idea."

Imagining him fly around on one of these things with a blaster in both his hands, Rey foresaw a lot of things going wrong. Mainly, him crashing into a marketplace stall on accident or blasting off too quickly on accident. If she was marked for death by the Force, the last thing she wanted was for Finn to fly himself off a roof by mistake. 

"You don't think I can do it," he challenged, arching an eyebrow.

Sighing, she turned away. "It's not that..." she began, knowing that if he wanted to put his mind to it, he could do anything, including working a jetpack. "It's just that I'm not sure how practical it would be on the battlefield. It seems like more of a risk to me than an advantage."

"I'm not going to wear it to fight until I really know how to use it," Finn promised.

"Nothing I say will sway you, you're saying?"

Finn chuckled. "Not at all, but I'm not an idiot. If it doesn't seem like something I can put to use, I'll probably just abandon the thought." He rubbed her shoulder. "Hey, cheer up. You're not going to get rid of me that easily."

_But_ I _might not be here for much longer,_ she wanted to say, but she knew better. Instead, Rey went back to her meal, silently watching Finn eat his own as she tried to think of anything but what might be coming. She had her family, someone who loved her, people that counted on her. Everything she had ever wanted back in the First Order was now in front of her. Even if the dream wasn't a vision, there was always a chance she could die tomorrow. In war, what mattered was that every moment counted.

She would make sure this one was no exception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Cackles evilly._ See you next week!


	6. Chapter 6

The next month was spent world-hopping and helping additional Resistance efforts as all eyes were kept of the development of the second Starkiller. A supply drop here, a stand-off there, the days almost blurred together.

Rey kept herself occupied by focusing her energy on becoming part of Blue Squadron. The all A-wing team had taken a beating since Lieutenant Lintra's loss, but they were determined to pick up the pieces and start anew. This meant taking on some new recruits and not only Rey, but Zay Meeko who had also proven her worth on Nimia Alpha. Rey often forgot how much younger Zay was from everyone else, but it was hard not to when she told her stories about how she and her mother infiltrated the First Order to nab the dreadnought plans which helped the Resistance out immensely. Finn particularly was interested in learning about Zay's parents: Del Meeko and Iden Versio. Both had been special forces for the Empire and defected once they learned their leaders would gladly kill the innocent to push their own agenda. Even though both of them had died at the hands of the First Order, their daughter had plenty of stories to tell about them.

Meanwhile, Finn spent more effort on the recovery effort of Nimia Alpha now that it was in alliance with the Resistance. Leia made it known that the Resistance and the remnants of the New Republic would help their friends get back on their feet as much as they could, and this was her way of showing that promise in action. Luke had also volunteered to remain on the world to continue Finn's training and to help out. Sometimes they were called away, but Nimia Alpha became home base to all three of the Jedi.

Their friends continued with their respectable jobs of leading starfighter teams. Poe and Black Squadron were tasked with continuing the recruitment effort for the Resistance, which was becoming a lot easier now that the First Order made their values known. Paige took Gold Squadron around to drop supplies or help with battle efforts while Rose worked on improving her new radar system. The more it was used, the better it became in pinpointing exact locations of enemy craft. Even Lando was beginning to enjoy his role in the Resistance despite not being in the right condition to fly out himself.

Despite how much better things were going, Rey's nightmares continued and she continued to have the dreadful feeling that Kylo was watching them. Not that he wouldn't be watching the Resistance, but that he was specifically watching her. She tried to distract herself with flying and spear practice alongside being with her family and friends, but nothing quite shook off her anxiety.

Thankful that Leia made sure that she got back to Nimia Alpha as much as possible, Rey spent every moment she could with him and her father. If not there, she always made sure her family spent their nights on the main Resistance base. Uncle Han and Chewbacca went back to Leia (and try to keep Lando from stealing the _Falcon_ back for himself) to support her with her own work.

Even in war, life went on.

But this contentment never lasted. To the panic of everyone, one morning Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, and Chewbacca had vanished.

The chaos that had erupted the discovery prompted a quick check for the _Millennium Falcon._ If the Corellian freighter was gone, the four were likely not in a hostage situation, though they could still very well be in danger. 

"I'm sure whatever hair-brained scheme my husband and brother came up with, Lando and Chewie wanted to tag along for the ride," Leia huffed as she slouched over the table in Operations. There was an empty cup of caf next to her, though she looked like she could use another. Next to her, R2-D2 cursed that he was left behind again and wondered if he was about to be replaced by a newer, updated droid. C-3PO did his best to try to calm his old friend down, but he wasn't doing a good job at it.

Rey and Finn were also on base that day along with Jannah, who wanted to see the Resistance's operations in action. The report of her missing family woke Rey up that morning and she had to keep herself from pacing in the Operations room. She did not think her father and uncle leaving without even a note was coincidental with the timing of learning of a second Starkiller. Her father had been on edge about the whole thing and Han wanted to lead another effort to blow the unfinished base up like he had done with its predecessor.

“Do you think that’s where they went to?” Finn asked when she told him her thoughts.

Nodding, Rey looked up at the sky, as if she could see the super weapon from all the way down on the world. “Possibly.” Then, she thought back to how ominous the base looked out in space. “No,” she corrected. “I _know_ that’s where they went.”

It wasn’t long until Leia had called a meeting. With the discovery of another planet killer, she had analyzed every detail they had and weighing their options.

“I knew those three couldn’t be trusted not to do something stupid.” Leia shook her head.

Poe appeared on the image behind her. He and the rest of Black Squadron had returned to her side to make their report. “Ma’am,” he began. “If this is true, my team should fly out there to back them up. They can’t complete that mission with only the weapons of one craft.”

This time, Rey cleared her throat loudly, interrupting. “Poe, I don’t think that’s necessary yet,” she explained. “I know that’s where they went, but I don’t think they went there to blow up another weapon.” She looked at her aunt steadily in the eyes. “Kylo’s there. I’m certain.”

“I thought that might be the case,” Leia agreed with a sigh. “This isn’t the first time Luke went to a half-finished weapon to end a war.” As she thought about this, her eyes stared out to the room she was in, looking at whatever was directly in front of her but not seeing. “He won’t be able to stop Kylo.”

Rey felt Finn twitch next to her, like he could not believe what Leia was saying. And really, Rey was also shocked at her aunt’s doubts. Hadn’t she always said she had complete faith in her brother?

She gave the pair a knowing look. “I don’t doubt his intentions,” Leia clarified, “but I know he won’t be able to stop Kylo on his own and Han will not be much help.”

“He turned Darth Vader against the Emperor,” Finn pointed out.

“He did,” Leia didn’t deny this. “Remember, Luke killed neither. They killed each other. But Luke never got to know his father the way he knows Kylo. There was no deep attachment to Vader. When it comes to Kylo, Luke’s weakness will be that attachment…” Her eyes shifted to everyone around her, including those in the room with her. “Despite his anger, he will not be able to kill his nephew. Not alone.”

There were a couple of audible gasps in both meeting rooms. Even Rey was surprised that Leia would reveal the truth about Kylo Ren to everyone, after all this time she had hid it.

Rey recalled her dream and how she saw herself face her cousin alone. She gulped. Even she still held attachment to the man that was once Ben Solo, despite hating him for everything. A moment of weakness, a mere recollection of the love she once had for him, could also be her downfall. This had also prevented Kylo from killing her twice now. Whatever twisted version of love he claimed to have for her, he held enough attachment that he considered allowing her to live by his side. She wondered if this still had an effect on him for after she had rejected his offer in the throne room next to the body of Snoke, Kylo was more than ready to kill her.

But if her father and Finn were there, then perhaps they could end this together.

Her eyes darted to Finn. He alone did not know Kylo before he donned the mask and red lightsaber. Finn had the advantage here over all three of them. Unlike them, Finn had no connection to Ben Solo to prevent him from doubting his actions. The only version of Kylo he had ever encountered was the violent, hateful one that would have been happy to tear the galaxy apart just for the chance to destroy the Jedi.

Finn had not been in her dream, just as her father had not been. If it was a vision, that meant that something had happened to them to keep them from being there. Already, Rey felt doubt in herself as she questioned what to do. Even if he insisted that she would never go anywhere Kylo was alone again, Rey could not find it in her heart to ask him to go with her knowing she might decide his fate.

Snoke had believed that his visions were clear and accurate and that had led to his own end. He saw a future where Kylo drew his weapon against an enemy, not realizing that the enemy had been himself. And, just like he had once told her, visions of the future could be tricky to decipher and be confident in. Foreseen futures were always changing as the variables shifted and changed.

If this was how this conflict would end, Rey would make sure she took every precaution and every chance to make sure the First Order did not reign victorious.

“I’m going to help my father,” she announced. “He won’t be alone.”

Finn nodded. “And if she’s going, then so am I.”

Leia pursed her lips, obviously unhappy with the turn of events, but also unable to come up with an alternative. “Come home,” she whispered. “Whatever happens, just make sure you all come home.”

* * *

Just before they left, Poe, Jannah, Paige, and Rose met them in the hangar to help them do a pre-flight check and to see them off. 

Poe pulled them both into a hug. “Just as the General says, come home to us,” he repeated. 

“I won’t forgive you if you don’t come back,” Rose added, though there was no humor in her voice. She was serious.

Finn grinned guiltily. “Well, we wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

But then, his attention turned to Jannah, who was looking very awkward and almost out of place. He stepped forward to meet her.

“I sent our samples out,” she said, speaking about the hair strands and cheek swabs they had gathered the day before. She looked upset, the first time that Finn saw the confidence she always seemed to carry wane. 

“Hey,” he said, pulling her into an embrace, “I’ll be back. Maybe we’ll have answers by then.”

Pulling back, Jannah looked him in the eyes. “I want you to know that even if you aren’t my brother, our people will always be proud of you.”

Unexpectedly, the declaration tugged at his heart. He still hadn’t quite come to terms that he had a heritage on this world, but as Jannah said this, Finn realized that much more than the Resistance was at stake here. His world had slowly grown bigger as he traveled through the galaxy and met people he grew to care about.

He noticed Rey give them a curious glance, and he smiled back at her.

“I have news,” he whispered to her when he was back at her side. “I’ll tell you in the transport.” He hadn’t told Rey yet in case he was wrong about Jannah, but in their current situation it seemed like the time was right.

“I can’t wait to hear,” she told him.

* * *

Finding a place to land their transport was no easy task, but thanks to Rose’s bafflers and Rey’s helmet tech, they found an abandoned dock where they could sneak in. It was easier to get in than the first Starkiller, Finn noted, but that was because much of the world had not been covered with shields. He took mental observations of his surroundings in case he had to make a report to bring down the base later.

But almost as quickly as they got in, they quickly found the _Falcon_ in the custody of stormtroopers and engineers.

Finn and Rey glanced at each other in fear. They both knew what the other was thinking. If the _Falcon_ was here, then where were Luke, Lando, Han, and Chewbacca?

“I’m sure they’re OK,” Rey breathed, though Finn did not know if she said it to calm him down or if it was more for herself.

“Can you sense them?” Finn asked. He tried to find them himself, but he found that he could not find them nearby. If they were still on-world, they could be miles away, and he could not look that far away yet. 

Rey concentrated on the Force, trying to find them in the unfinished weapon. Luckily, it seemed the First Order didn’t have a full army around this time, though there were still plenty of threats. 

“Han and Chewie are alive, I know that,” she said, though her voice betrayed her pain.

“Your father?”

Another moment went by before Rey shook her head with disappointment. “Kylo’s here,” she admitted. “But I don’t sense Dad.”

Finn knew what she was thinking immediately, though his own heart sank at the news. “Don’t give up hope, Rey. I’m sure he’s fine.” He looked around. “We’re on a busy planet, after all.”

Rey nodded, but she did not seem confident.

"Keiya Ren might also be around," she warned, which reminded Finn that they had not seen or heard from the final Knight of Ren like they had expected. He wondered if she was here, just waiting for them to make a wrong move. 

They halted at a corner, looking down the incoming corridor, and breathed a sigh of relief when they found no one in the area. It almost felt too easy to Finn, and he knew that if Kylo was around, he most likely had already sensed Rey. Actually, Finn was uncertain if Kylo considered him a threat or not or even knew that Finn had taken up a lightsaber of his own.

But the ease of getting through multiple corridors made Finn wonder if they were walking into a trap.

It only took a few minutes until they ran into a familiar face… Well, rather _three_ familiar faces.

Startling after they bumped into each other’s backs, the five jumped to face the other occupants of the corridor, weapons drawn. They gasped and lowered their weapons the moment they saw who they had just ran into. 

“Uncle Han?” Rey gasped. “Lando? Chewie?”

“Yeah, kid,” Han grunted.

“Where’s Dad?” she didn’t hesitate or even look over their shoulder to see if Luke would come running up behind them.

Chewie let out a mournful sound. But it was Han’s face that was even more alarming. 

“I dunno, Rey,” he sighed. “The four of us snuck on together, but then we got cornered by some stormtroopers. Luke went to fight them off himself to give us time to get away. We held up in a hangar for hours, hoping he’d turn up.”

Finn didn’t want to say his negative thoughts. Something was wrong and there were too many bad variables now. If Kylo had been around when Luke fought off the stormtroopers, he might have been captured. But if Rey couldn’t sense her father either…

Rey was probably thinking the worst as well.

So, he thought only ahead on what they could predict they would come to. “How much farther along are those ‘troopers,” he asked?

Han shrugged. “I haven’t seen anyone for hours,” he said. “It’s almost like we’re not important enough to look for.” He seemed a little insulted by that. “But I bet if any of their surveillance picks you two up, you’ll find them soon enough.”

Nodding, Finn looked around, trying to get a better sense of the landscape. He could sense life in the world around them, though in flora and fauna, their numbers were small. Come to think of it, Finn was not sure what kind of world this had been originally; the New Republic had nothing on it in their records. Had the First Order come to this place first to extinguish the existing life here before they built their weapon?

“We need to end this," said Finn. "Rey and I are going to stop Kylo and find Luke. We’ll bring him back.”

Lando nodded, though he did not look happy.

“We'll go look for the _Falcon,”_ he explained. “We landed outside but I’m sure the First Order has already found it. We need a getaway and if there’s a boot or anything on it…”

Chewbacca roared in agreement.

"It's outside," said Rey. "'Troopers were swarming it."

Han swore.

It seemed odd to leave the pair alone when there was trouble all around them, but Finn agreed that it might be best for Han to stay as far away from Kylo as possible, considering the last time he met his son.

“Our transport is in a hangar a couple of corridors back from here,” he told them. “If you can’t find the _Falcon-"_

Rey gently nudged him in the ribs to stop him before Han growled, “I’m finding my ship and I’m not leaving here without her.”

“Be careful,” said Rey as she walked down the corridor. “We’ll try to be back soon.”

* * *

The exterior of the world could not be more different from the snow-capped forests of the original Starkiller. Tropical and bright, the world Finn and Rey stepped into took their breath away. 

“I’ve never seen water so blue before,” said Finn as he looked out to a picturesque lake.

Rey walked forward to the water’s edge, reaching out to dip her fingers into the pool. “It’s warm,” she announced as she looked around the lush forest around them. “It seems like such a shame that this world is being ruined.”

He thought about how the weapon was being built into the world’s core. It was far from finished, and though Finn knew that such an endeavor would be irreversible, he also wondered if it would permanently damage the world. He knew of ancient structures that had been reclaimed by nature and time. Perhaps, this Starkiller could also be rendered powerless as the world around it adapted to its presence.

“Maybe we can fix this,” he said, hopefully.

They continued on, staying off a worn down dirt trail by hiding in the foliage nearby. They’d rather avoid stormtroopers if possible.

But it proved almost impossible when they came to an area that was so rocky, there was only one safe way up the hill and that was by traveling on the trail. They could sense that up ahead were ‘troopers stationed as sentinels.

“How many do you think there are?” Finn asked Rey.

She smiled. “You tell me.”

A learning experience, then. Finn closed his eyes and concentrated on the Force, looking for the unique signatures of any human life around them. “Uh… I’m counting around fifteen.” His face scrunched up into a frown. That was a lot of ‘troopers to either fight or evade.

Rey nodded. “See? You’re getting it?” Finn noted she did not seem happy about the number though.

“So how do we proceed?”

“I suppose we have to walk up the trail and see how it goes.”

He almost was about to ask her if she was serious, but Finn followed his partner up the slope and into the sights of the First Order. Hand pressed against the lightsaber clipped to his belt, he kept telling himself that all would be well to try to convince himself to keep his confidence.

Pacing themselves, it only took a few minutes of jogging until they were spotted.

“Halt,” a stormtrooper ordered.

A pair of other stormtroopers approached. After inspecting them, one of the ‘troopers laughed. “Well,” he announced. “Looks like we don’t need their identification. Everyone knows these traitors when they see them.”

Finn glanced at Rey worriedly, but noticed that she was glancing around, taking in everything around them. She was trying to come up with something to get them out of here.

“Hey, look what we’ve caught!” one of the stormtroopers announced to the others standing a couple of meters away.

Then, to his surprise, Rey almost relaxed when they approached them. Finn thought he could feel something different about these stormtroopers compared to the first three. There wasn’t a sense of anger or ill-intent there, well… actually, there was, but he was shocked to find that those feelings were not directed at him and Rey.

No, they were directed at the lead ‘trooper.

“Where are those binders? Let’s take them to the Supreme-"

The sudden sounds of multiple blasters firing made Finn and Rey duck for cover, ready to use the Force to help them if needed.

But the bolts never came close to them. Instead, when they looked up, they found the bodies of two of the ‘troopers and their captain on the ground, their white armor tarnished with the blackened signs of bolt holes.

“Let them pass,” one of the other stormtroopers ordered.

“Wait,” Rey paused, looking around confused. “You’re letting us just go?”

“You’re FN-2187 and Sira Ren, right?” the stormtrooper asked.

“We were,” Finn confirmed, though he wasn't sure if that was the right answer.

Then, one by one, the stormtroopers removed their helmets, revealing the human faces underneath. Finn gaped at them, having never seen so many ‘troopers remove their helmets while on duty.

“The First Order has been crumbling from the inside since Hux was killed,” explained another. “Many of us have tried to leave, but the Supreme Leader sees to them.”

“Lord Ren doesn’t care about a bunch of stormtroopers,” added the first ‘trooper.

Rey nodded. “We’ll do what we can to stop him.” She stopped, thinking. “Can you help us get to him? I don’t think it will be easy without some inside help.”

A woman removed a pair of binders from her utility belt, nodding. “I think we can help you there.”

* * *

Not surprisingly, playing prisoner was the easiest way to get through an enemy base.

Finn and Rey bypassed all the difficult parts of maneuvering through the unfamiliar corridors and landscape. With the help of the stormtroopers – and Rey took note to make sure that all of them were helped by the Resistance when this was over, that is, if they all survived – they stared at the plain black doors of the amphitheater where Kylo had placed his throne.

Rey glanced at the two Praetorian guards standing watch and gave Finn a look that told her what she was planning. They waited until the stormtroopers removed their binders to strike.

A flicker of silver caught the guards by surprise. This time, Rey made sure they didn’t have time to fight back.

Finn stared down at the bodies of the guards with a frown, obviously not enjoying that they had to die for them to get in to Kylo, but with a sigh, he seemed to accept that there were two less obstacles to go through, especially if they had to make a quick attempt at escape.

“Good luck,” one of the stormtroopers muttered to them as he helped them with the code to open the doors.

Unlike the throne room of the _Supremacy,_ this room wasn’t as grand. Seating the Supreme Leader had never been the intended purpose for this place and it showed. Seats were stationed in a circular pattern around a large, rounded platform, though Rey noted that a few of the seats had slashes through their cushioning and a couple had been toppled to the ground. The walls were also black this time and far easier on the eyes.

But Kylo, slouched in the throne as if waiting impatiently, was anything but.

“And here I was starting to think you weren’t going to show up,” he said. He looked between the two. “And I see you’ve brought your friend, cousin. This is a surprise.” Kylo smirked. “I’m glad to see that you are beginning to learn that you are not strong enough to fight me on your own.”

Finn glared at him and reached to his side for the lightsaber clipped to his belt.

Kylo saw this and laughed. For the first time since she entered the room, she noticed that something was off about him. His eyes, normally a dark brown, glowed amber. Rey heard that this was a tell-tale sign of the Sith, but the Knights of Ren were not that.

“What’s this? Is that what I think it is?” He glared at the lightsaber. “I could not think of anyone more unworthy to carry that weapon.”

Rey had to do everything in her power to not allow herself to run at Kylo with her lightsaber.

“No matter,” Kylo continued. “I have a new lightsaber, far more impressive than that old thing. And I actually had to put up a real fight for it.” He reached to the armrest of the throne and picked up the hilt of a lightsaber, holding it out to admire it and to show Finn and Rey what it was. The grin on his face was something she had never seen before on him. It was almost as if he was a different person.

Scratch that, the darkness around him, though it had always been there, grew thicker and choking. This wasn't just his darkness anymore.

She felt her stomach drop what she realized who the lightsaber belonged to. The familiar style of hilt was one she had seen all throughout her childhood and when practicing with Finn. 

Her father’s lightsaber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Join me next week for the conclusion of this AU!


	7. Chapter 7

It wasn’t just Rey that Kylo had to worry about. Sudden anger coursing through his veins, Finn unclipped his lightsaber and ignited it, rushing straight at Kylo. It was hard to keep himself back when facing the man that had did so much evil to the galaxy.

But just as Finn raised his saber to strike, Kylo held out his hand and pushed Finn away with a blow of the Force. “Fool.” He smirked as Finn went crashing into the chairs circling the platform.

Immediately, Rey went for her spear, igniting it and posing herself with a threat as deadly as a viper ready to strike. She noticed that Kylo eyed the plasma beam of her spear with curiosity, something she had seen a few people do before. Silver blades were not common and against the dark and weathered metal of her old quarterstaff, the color of the beam was a striking contrast.

The Supreme Leader did not make a comment, however, but he rose from his seat with his own lightsaber in hand. Igniting the blames, flickering like a flame, Kylo looked at the pair unamused as Finn staggered back to the platform. 

“Very well then,” he said. “I’m growing tired of our games, Rey.”

“Me too,” she agreed. “So, let’s end this.”

This time, Rey was not alone. With Finn at her side, she felt confident they would be victorious, even if the doubts and fears of her vision made her weary of her own fate. At least Finn could make it out and get to see a world without the First Order…

Their blades crossed Kylo’s together, pushed apart as his strength unbalanced them. Finn faltered backwards while Kylo turned around to strike at Rey. But Finn quickly regained his footing and soon the pair were striking in an uneven rhythm, keeping their enemy on his toes and he focused back and forth between the two lightsabers to evade their swipes.

Eventually, Finn saw an opening and tried to use his elbow and forearm to hit Kylo in the area between his neck and shoulder, but Kylo caught this and blocked the hit with his own forearm. Their eyes locked in a glare. Kylo was no longer amused, but he left an opening for Finn to push against him with his shoulder as Kylo was busy blocking Rey’s spear.

As Finn swung again, Kylo had no choice but to duck down to barely miss being hit by the blue blade, narrowly being missed again by Rey’s silver blade. He scrambled back to his feet, positioning himself on his hands and knees to prepare himself to make a quick escape or a quick strike.

Finn and Rey stood back, watching as Kylo righted himself and twirled his blade in his hand as he thought out his next movement. 

He still was too strong, Rey thought. Even two against one was not evening the odds…

Charging at them, Kylo twirled his lightsaber once and extended his arm out. Finn had to back away to avoid getting his neck slashed. Rey then took over fighting Kylo off to let Finn have time to regain his balance, but he quickly rejoined, coming back with angrier strikes. 

It was clear to Rey that her cousin was annoyed by Finn’s presence, perhaps wanting to fight Rey one-on-one. He growled at Finn, making quick, angry, swipes at him until Finn almost hit him by stabbing his lightsaber down – the waterfall technique, she recalled. Dodging it, Kylo glared at Finn as he used the Force to push him back, turning to Rey as she approached with his saber ready.

Walking backwards, she met each swipe of his lightsaber with her spear. It became a dance of blocking and parrying, though it further fueled Kylo's rage. She knew this moment well; it was the same one that had haunted her dreams for months. If she didn’t make the right choice, Kylo would die with her along with him.

Surely, there was another way.

Finn had retrieved his lightsaber from the floor and ignited it again, making Rey realize that there might be a chance. Her father might not have been here to help her, but Finn was. Rey didn’t have to be the one to make a killing blow.

And she had something neither her father nor Finn had…

She hadn’t used the powers of the dark side in months, afraid that using them would pull her further and further from the light, but she still knew how to use them far better than her new self-study had helped her learn new things. If light alone would not stop her cousin, then maybe she needed to rethink her plan and realize that she would have to use both the techniques of the darkness and the light to win this battle.

Suddenly, Kylo laughed, but it did not sound like his own. It was more of a cackle than his usual low chuckle. "Let the darkness consume you," he urged. "It is your destiny."

At first, she thought it was her imagination, but no, it couldn't be. There was _something_ forming behind Kylo, black and glimmering like darkness itself. She remembered her dream and felt her heart tighten in her chest. This was... it was all wrong. Whatever this darkness was, it was connected to Kylo, but it wasn't him either. It was like its own entity.

It almost seemed to whisper her name. Taunting her. Tempting her. The darkness drew closer.

Rey wanted to back away, to run. The veil of darkness threatened to swallow her up, it wanted to do that like it did to her cousin. The moment she left herself open to the dark side, it would shape her into something horrible.

But to run away would be to fail, and she would not fail here. She knew the darkness and the light; walked between the two and found peace with it. Once, she was a Knight of Ren, but now, she was more than she ever thought she could be.

Remembering how she stopped that rathtar in his tracks all that time ago, and how she imagined herself holding a ball and squeezing it until it begged, instinct almost took over. This time, she looked at Kylo while dodging his attacks, imagining himself as the ball this time and clenching her free hand into a fist.

He stumbled where he stood, suddenly freezing in his spot. “Rey,” he gasped.

The darkness struck, enveloping her. It hurt her, reminding her of the pain she felt under Snoke's hand that opened her to being molded into something else. She suspected the darkness wanted that too.

Finn's voice called out to her, but she couldn't bring herself to answer him.

 _"Give in, young Skywalker,"_ the darkness hissed. She could hear it clearly in her ears. _"It won't hurt, I promise."_

It was determined to consume her, but she would not let it. She still had her hold on Kylo, keeping him still. Finn still was open to attack. The darkness wasn't interested in him, but maybe it was because it thought she was an easier target.

Rey knew she could do this. She trusted the Force. All she needed to do was hold on for just a bit longer.

“Finn,” she called out, urgently.

Realizing what she had just done, Finn nodded bewilderingly.

At first, Rey panicked, thinking Finn was about to stand there because he either didn’t understand her intent or he couldn’t bring himself to kill Kylo. But then she chastised herself for lacking faith in her partner. When hadn’t Finn pulled through for her? Time and again, he put himself into difficult and dangerous situations for her sake and this time, he knew exactly what was at stake and how important this moment was.

Then, to her relief, Finn gripped the lightsaber in both his hands, poised to strike.

Kylo realized what was about to happen and struggled to break free. He almost did; his strength in the Force and his will to do it had never been stronger. The darkness, also realizing this, tightened its grip around Rey, choking her, trying to force her to let go. She sensed it couldn't survive on its own yet. Without a host, the darkness would wither away.

“Rey-" It was almost a plea. “There’s another way.”

She paid no attention to him and willed her emotions away. “Once, perhaps,” she mused, taking a deep breath to keep herself in control. “But you made your choice.”

The blue lightsaber ran through his chest, bursting out of Kylo’s front for Rey to see. The darkness convulsed, screaming in her ears as it slackened its grip on her. Finn waited a moment before he drew the lightsaber back and she finally let her grasp on her cousin go.

He slumped forward and Rey allowed herself to slow his fall as she helped lowered him to the floor. Kylo’s eyes kept fluttering shut, as if he was trying to keep himself awake.

“You could have been so much more,” he told her. Blood splattered out of his lips as the darkness began to vanish like smoke.

“I am the best I can be,” she retorted, “because of you. Because of everything you did.”

Kylo’s breathing slowed until at last, all life had left him. Rey was not sure if he believed that he would become one with the Force after death the way Jedi did, but it didn’t matter to her. All that mattered was that he would never hurt anyone again. Never hurt _her_ again.

As she lowered his body to the ground, for a reason she couldn’t explain, Rey felt her eyes water and she sniffled. Though she felt no sympathy for her cousin, she agreed with him that there had been another way. There had been a million possibilities for him that would not have ended with him dead on the floor of a super weapon, but he had made the worst choices and this was his outcome. There were no chosen ones in this story like he believed. Perhaps the Force willed Rey to rise against him when he chose the darkness, but she realized that thinking on that possibility did not matter either.

Finn watched on and didn’t interrupt her, nor did he have a look of disapproval. She did not expect him to understand, but he at least seemed to respect that she was grieving the familial bond that once connected her with her enemy.

“Rey,” he finally said, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. “I think we need to get out of here. Someone will come here and it might be trouble for us.”

Wordlessly, she nodded and stood up as she retrieved her spear. As she followed Finn out, the empty throne grabbed her attention and she stopped in her tracks.

This whole scene was so familiar to her. Why was this so familiar to her?

Then, she recalled the dark cave back on Ahch-To. Back to when she first made a commitment to return to the light and how the dark side tried its best to convince her to stay. The dark side showed her a vision where she sat upon that throne, taking control of the First Order.

And if she took control of the First Order, she could end all of this.

“Rey?” Finn said again, slow and with weariness, as she walked away from him.

She stepped up to the throne, brushing her hand lightly against the metal armrest. “We could end this all right now, Finn,” she promised him.

He looked at the throne, then back at her, sighing deeply. He looked doubtful for a moment. “Do you have a plan?”

“Not really,” she confessed. “But I think… no, I _know_ this is what I have to do.” Rey’s eyes widened, pleading. “Do you trust me?”

Holding out her hand, Rey was reminded almost too much of how her cousin had once offered her the galaxy and how she refused it. Perhaps, if she had taken it then, she might have stopped all this long ago… but would Finn still be here if she had? Would her father have taken her back as a daughter if she had?

This might work, but if Finn wasn’t behind her on this, Rey realized that she would have to find another way. Selfish as it sounded, she’d rather live in a galaxy of war with him by her side than a galaxy at peace without him. Finn was worthy of that love more than she ever thought herself worthy of the love he showed her.

Finn’s facial expression wasn’t all that confident, but with a sigh, he shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t say I have a plan either,” he confessed. “But if you think this will work, Rey, then yes: I trust you.”

That was all she needed to hear.

She looked at the throne one more time before she sat in it. Claiming it for herself wasn’t going to automatically make her the Supreme Leader, but she had a group of supporters waiting outside for her. That was a good start.

Finn chuckled. “Do I have to call you _Your Majesty_ now?”

Rey shot him a sly grin. “Coming from you, I wouldn’t be against it.”

He shook his head. “What now?” he asked. “You just going to sit there or-?”

She looked over all the buttons on the armrest of the throne. “I don’t know what any of these do and I’m afraid to find out.” Then, she looked at him sheepishly. “Can you go open the door and let our friends in?”

Finn laughed as he made his way across the room, composing himself in time to open the doors.

A white helmet peered inside. “Is he-?"

“Kylo’s gone,” Finn confirmed. “We don’t know if you had plans for someone to take over, but we might fight whoever challenges us.” He pointed back at Rey on the throne. “She wants to end this as soon as possible.”

The stormtrooper looked over to his group to see if anyone had an answer. They all looked back and forth at each other with a shrug. 

“I don’t think we have anyone left that could challenge you,” he said. “Hux would have been our next in command but he’s… well, we have a few superior officers that would make logical candidates, but they couldn’t fight a Force-user.”

So, this was looking to be a lot easier, though Finn was shocked over how quickly the Order unraveled from within. He thought it would take a while to wear it down to almost nothing, though he was certain that there would be a few groups off this planet destroyer that wouldn't give in to the Resistance so quickly. Perhaps this was just a sign of how weak the might of the First Order really was.

“Sir,” said one of the stormtroopers, “what will the Resistance do with us?”

Finn could hear fear in his voice. “They won’t do anything to you,” he promised them. “The Resistance won’t do anything to the stormtroopers that didn’t have a say in what they did. We’re more interested in the chain of command. We'll just make sure you don’t want to cause any trouble and help you settle down somewhere.” He remembered the DNA test and how it helped him find his home world again. “We might be able to help you figure out where you were born, too. If you want that.”

That seemed to be a relief to them, if their shoulders relaxing was any indication. “We’ll get the word out that Supreme Leader Kylo has fallen, and that surrender is imminent,” said the leading ‘trooper. “Under the orders of Supreme Leader-?" he looked at Rey sitting in the throne room.

“Sira Ren,” Rey called out. “Tell them that Supreme Leader Sira has returned.”

The sudden curious glances into the throne room was all Finn needed to know that Rey’s scheme might actually pull through.

* * *

In the short time that Rey had assumed power, she and Finn scrapped together a declaration of surrender to send out to the First Order, get a copy of all locations and tracking information for the entire fleet, and a list of any prisoners that were being held.

Rey looked disappointed. “Is this everyone being held?” she asked, nervously.

The stormtrooper nodded his head, sympathetically. “I’ll call around to see if there were any recent additions that haven’t made that list, but as far as I know, yes, Supreme Leader.”

She sighed heavily. “All right, then. Thank you.”

The stormtrooper exited the throne room just as Finn returned with a few familiar faces in tow. “Look who I found barricaded in a hangar supply room.” He grinned.

Chewbacca roared happily as he went up to gather Rey into a big, relieved hug. Rey laughed, “Good to see you too, Chewie.”

Han patted her on the back. “Supreme Leader Rey, huh?” He chuckled. “First this guy,” he nodded at Finn, “steals their credits away, now you’re their great leader.” Behind them, Lando chuckled.

“Kylo’s dead,” she told him solemnly, not finding a lot of humor in this situation.

Frowning, Han ran his hands through his hair. “I know, kiddo. I figured. It’s OK.”

“But he was your son,” she reminded him.

There was a flash of sadness in his eyes that Rey noticed whenever he thought of Ben. Regret, she realized recently. “Kylo wasn’t my son,” he told her. “Ben was; not Kylo.”

A part of her still didn’t understand how he could think of them as two different people, but she wondered if that was what Han had to do to cope. She understood the difference between Rey and Sira, and though she was using the title now, Rey felt that Sira was a name from another lifetime. She would pretend to be Sira for now, but she would remain as Rey.

"Hey," Lando tried to be cheerful. "At least this time I didn't have to blow up any super weapons."

Rey tried to crack a smile but her stomach dropped when her uncle looked around the throne room, obviously looking for someone in particular. “Where’s Luke?”

Suddenly, she couldn’t keep her voice from shaking. “I don’t know,” she cried. “Kylo said he-"

“He what?” came a voice from behind them. “I’m right here.”

Her attention went to the person that just entered the throne room, looking at him as if she had just seen a ghost. “Dad?”

“I’m fine, Rey,” he assured her. “Ben just had me tossed into a cell. Obviously, he thought I was an old man and forgot who he was dealing with. I was making my escape when the announcement was made.” He beamed at her. “Supreme Leader?”

“I think the Force wants it this way,” she told him. “I won’t be keeping that title for much longer.”

“But we’ll never let you live it down- umph-!“

Running straight for her father, Rey wrapped her arms around him and held him in a tight hug. Luke looked shocked at the sudden affection, but with a smile, he returned the gesture. Rey had almost forgotten what it was like to be comforted by a parent.

She was overwhelmed with the feeling of gratitude that she hadn’t already lost her future with him.

“It’s OK, Rey. I’m fine. Your cousin's a kriffin' nerve burner and decided he'd have more fun torturing than killing me, but I'm fine.” He looked her in the eyes, glancing with worry. "Are you all right?" he asked. The body of Kylo Ren had been removed already, but she figured her father probably wondered if killing her own cousin would negatively affect her. It did, but not because Kylo was her cousin, but for who her cousin became.

No, that wasn't what her father was worried about. There was something else.

"What's wrong, Dad?" she turned the question on him.

Luke grimaced. "I let Kylo's taunts get to me," he admitted. "I thought-" he trailed off as he looked around the room bewildered. "Never mind. As long as you're OK."

Rey let it go. Kylo's hold over her family was finally no longer a threat to them. Nodding, she released him before she went back up to take her seat on the throne. She looked at her father's lightsaber next to her and recalled the fear she felt when Kylo made her believe that he had defeated the last Jedi Master. Kylo had always been excellent at manipulating her using those she loved the most, even using himself to dig into the wounds of her heart. No longer would she be a victim to that.

Holding the lightsaber out for Luke to reclaim it, she grinned. "I believe you dropped this."

He took it back with gratitude. "Must be rusty," he excused himself, though not without a noticeable amount of shame written on his face.

Surrounded by her family, Rey knew that she would do the right thing this time. They supported her and loved her and she would never take that for granted.

She sat down and tried to make herself comfortable. “I think it’s time we call Leia,” she announced.

* * *

General Organa rushed into the Communications room when she got the news that an unidentified First Order Star Destroyer had entered orbit, claiming that it was now under Resistance occupation. It sounded like a trap, and with her family in the enemy's territory, she didn’t want to take any chances.

Already in the room was Rose, who was sitting in her chair with a silly grin on her face. Even Connix looked cheerful. Whatever it was then, to Leia’s relief, it wasn’t bad news. She almost mistook the looks of shock and awe on the technicians' faces for something far more pessimistic.

“Hey, General,” Rose said. “You’re going to love this.”

“Try me,” she deadpanned before sitting down at a console and approving the incoming transmission.

The white-blue projection of her niece stood neatly on a disc-like platform on the console. Even like this, Leia could tell that Rey was looking a little nervous.

“Hi Aunt Leia,” she began a little awkwardly. “Umm… we won the war for you?” She grinned like she was unsure about all of this herself.

Even though Leia had not concerned the idea before, she knew for certain now that her niece did not have a bright future in politics. Not with an announcement like that. Grumbling, Leia rubbed at her temple before making a response.

“What did you do?” she finally asked. “Or rather, do I want to know?”

Lando could be audibly heard somewhere behind Rey, snorting in amusement.

* * *

Finn stood in the plain, durasteel corridors of the _Finalizer's_ brig. Everything was quiet now that almost all the prisoners had been freed or sent to Resistance holdings. Deathly still, the lower deck of the Star Destroyer almost reminded him of a tomb.

He stared silently at the door of a high-security cell, guarded by the only two stormtroopers left on duty on this deck. They stood still like statues, not making any gesture to acknowledge Finn's presence. They would not speak until spoken to.

"I'm here to see the prisoner," he announced.

One of the stomtroopers moved to the side to hit the lever that opened the cell door. He stepped aside to allow Finn in and closed the door behind him. 

Suddenly, he felt claustrophobic, trapped in a cell with a dangerous prisoner. Finn's hand drifted to his lightsaber, trying to use the weapon to offer him comfort that he was armed. He looked ahead at the woman in front of him, held by electric shackles that prevented her from getting too close to the door and other people in the cell. He wondered how long she had been in there because her dark brown hair looked like it could use a wash and dried blood matted her olive skin. She grinned at Finn, though her dark eyes still looked on at him with sinister intent.

"We were wondering why we didn't see you in battle, Keiya," he spoke first.

Grinning, she finally said, "And is this why you're here? To kill me?"

Wondering if he should answer her, Finn opted to stay quiet. Really, he was just here to ask a few questions while Rey was doing... whatever the Supreme Leader did. She was putting the pieces in place so that when the First Order disbanded, there wouldn't be total chaos of a bunch of stormtroopers, many of which were very violent individuals, would have a plan in place of where to go and how to be treated. Keiya in captivity wasn't as pressing an issue, but Finn wanted to make sure the last surviving Knight of Ren was not a threat. He was surprised to read _why_ she was a prisoner too.

"You betrayed Kylo," he noted. "Why?"

Shifting in her spot, Keiya glanced him up and down. Her eyes stopped at the lightsaber clipped to his belt. "I followed Supreme Leader Snoke, not Kylo," she answered.

"And do you know why he left you alive?" It seemed odd to Finn that Kylo would allow someone that betrayed him like that to live, even if she was a prisoner. Torturing her to death might have been something he would have enjoyed. He certainly didn't give Poe or Rey or any of his other victims the mercy of a quick death.

"I'm just as in the dark as you," Keiya admitted. "I haven't seen him in ages. The last time he was here, he told me he might have use for me if his other plan fell through."

That worried Finn, though there wasn't any immediate cause for concern. Kylo's death didn't trigger anything like Operation Cinder back at the fall of the Empire, in fact, no one knew of anything that would be enacted if the Supreme Leader fell. Rey had search far and wide for any grand scheme and found nothing. It would seem that Kylo hadn't held power long enough to create something like that. He wasn't sure what Keiya Ren would have been found of use for, but whatever it had been, it hadn't been good but at least it no longer was something they needed to worry about.

"Wasn't Kylo the one who gave the order to slaughter the students as Skywalker's school?" Finn pressed.

She didn't respond.

Sighing, Finn decided he would 'fess up to why he was there. "Keiya Ren, for your crimes against the Jedi Order and the New Republic, you will be put on trial."

Laughing, Keiya tossed her head back before she became serious again. "A trial? By who? The New Republic has fallen."

"The New Republic survives. You forget: the Hosnian system was just their headquarters. Many of their diplomats and politicians still live."

"So a skeleton of a government is going to put me on trial," she mused. "And here I thought Kylo would just leave me to rot." Something flashed in her eyes, but Finn could not place a name for the look. "Fine then. I know they will not pity me; I do not want them to."

That wasn't quite the response that Finn was expecting, but he didn't exactly know how she would take to the news. There was nowhere for her to run now but he also knew he couldn't let his guard down around her. That was one reason why he was here: to help the remaining on-duty stormtroopers move her some place in New Republic capacity. Rey wanted to be there herself, but she knew Finn could do this. He would never allow Keiya Ren to escape on his watch.

"Let's go," he ordered.

Obediently, she stood up and allowed the stormtroopers to switch her shackles. Finn thought back to the time he came here to break Poe out, pretending to send a high-security prisoner to his death. Now, he might very well be doing that. He knew that Keiya Ren would be remembered as a traitor to the Jedi Order and a child killer, and nothing made him feel better than the thought that finally, things were going right.

* * *

Rey and Finn’s victory over Kylo was not the end to the war exactly, but it had been a good start. Without the proper strong leadership in place, much of the First Order crumbled to the pressure of surrender. But just as everyone predicted, there was a couple of groups still keeping up the fight while they scrambled to appoint new officers, just as the Empire did all those years ago.

A treaty was being drafted now by Leia and Rey and when they signed it, it would permanently dissolve the entity known as the First Order along with Rey’s title as the Supreme Leader (though Finn and Han continued to use it to tease her). It was probably the oddest way of an endgame that Leia had seen in all her years of wartime and she had never heard of anything like it either. She hoped that her niece’s name would go down in history with a sense of humor attached to it.

But there was still the issue of making sure they wouldn’t have a repeat of the First Order’s rise to power. They knew it would be impossible to be completely sure they had wiped out any remaining First Order factions, considering their numbers in unexplored space, but the Resistance had already agreed to keep their eyes and ears out for anything suspicious and to investigate anything that may be attached to their enemy. Luke had already agreed to lead the group for now, wanting to owe up for not thinking about it the first time around with the Empire.

Peace and order did not happen right away. No one believed it would. There was still a lot to rebuild and a lot to mourn and no one had agreed on a new intergalactic governance yet. Leia still believed in the Senate, as long as stricter limitations and better planned responsibilities were laid out from the start. Others were cynical of the idea. Why would the galaxy want to return to a system that had already failed multiple times in the past, with the last attempt only lasting three decades? It would be a long debate process and Leia was certain that eventually an agreement could be made. As long as intergalactic relations were forged into something stronger, their attempts would not be in vain.

Right now, there was something else that Leia had to attend to. Something far more important to herself.

She stood in front of a mirror as she adjusted the braid she tried to remember from her childhood. Alderaanian braids were hard enough to do without a droid’s help and there were few left that knew even the simplest of them. Likely, she realized bitterly, the next generation of the children of Alderaan would only be able to learn simple styles unless something of reference could be found. 

Mourning clothes were never something Leia enjoyed wearing, but they had their time and place.

Han waited outside the bedroom for her, his clothes equally somber along with his expression. “Ready?” he asked, offering his arm to her. The only time Han was actively a gentleman was when the situation was serious.

Shaking her head sadly, Leia looped her arm with her husband's. “Of course not,” she retorted. “But when will we ever be ready for this?”

He didn’t answer her as they began their walk to their destination.

They went to a chamber that old Mon Mothma had reserved for them on Chandrila, it was the least she could do, she had said, once she realized what her actions in the past had brought to some of her closest friends. 

Rey, Finn, and Luke were already waiting outside the chamber door, looking and dressed as darkly as Han and Leia. She was surprised that Finn had made it with how busy he had been with helping the former stormtroopers relocate to safe places to learn how to adapt to a new society – the ones that could adapt, anyway. Unfortunately, they had learned there were some soldiers that had been so ingrained in the First Order’s ideology, that no one was sure they could ever function well without supervision. Leia honestly would not have been surprised if Finn had decided that his job was more important than this. She wouldn’t have blamed him either.

“How are things going, Finn?” she addressed him first.

Grunting, Finn confessed, “We’re still having problems with Cardinal. He knows Phasma is still alive out there and wants to track her down himself.”

“Do you think she’ll be a problem?” Leia asked. If anyone knew the mysterious former stormtrooper leaders, it was Finn.

Shrugging, he sighed. “We haven’t heard about her in a year. I bet she’s lying low. Maybe if word gets to her… wherever she is… that the First Order is gone, she’ll feel safe enough to come back into the open, but she was always more worried about keeping herself alive than making trouble.” He scratched the back of his neck, thinking. “If Cardinal wasn’t so hell-bent on revenge, he might be OK on his own.”

“We’ll talk later,” Leia promised him. “He had been a help to us. We have to make good on our agreements.”

“Zeroes and Nerf said that they could keep an eye on him for a while. They’re doing well and I know Zeroes will keep in touch. He’s already been good about that.” Finn had kept communications with his old classmate after he was given clearance to do so. He had already told her that Zeroes was adapting well enough and had no interest in continuing to fight.

Interrupting the conversation, though Leia found it was a good distraction, Lando arrived. Even wearing all black, he still looked as good as ever. What was very un-Lando about him, however, was that he didn’t have his normally cheerful greeting.

“Is this everyone?” Han asked, checking around.

“It is,” Leia agreed. Then, she heaved a sigh. “Let’s get this over with.”

The family was separated into groups, going inside for a couple of minutes each before returning. Han and Leia waited to go in last, knowing they would probably be in the chamber the longest before the group returned one last time all together.

As Luke, Finn, and Rey returned from the chamber, allowing Lando in after them, Leia noted that Luke’s eyes were tinted red. She then looked from him to Rey and Finn, who were trying their best not to show how visibly bothered they were. Staring blankly at the wall ahead of her, Rey was lost in thought and shock.

The door was open, waiting for them to come inside.

Bravely, Han took a deep breath and made the first steps forward, Leia, for once, following behind him. They closed the doors once they were in the room, frozen in their places as they looked over the simple casket in the center.

A funeral for a son of a senator would have been a more lavish affair, but considering the situation and the fact that Leia and Han had already announced their son’s death years ago, they had to keep this one out of the public eye, lest someone catch wind that Ben Solo had not been dead and became the shell that was Kylo Ren. Besides, he did not deserve even this simple affair. Han and Leia originally had been the only ones to express their desire to see the body of their son one last time before his remains were cremated and put unceremoniously into the urn already inside the Solo family crypt. It would likely always remain a small memorial unless Luke and his family decided to share it. Leia was not sure if that side of the family would leave a body behind when they passed on, the Jedi preferring to vanish into the Force after death. She wondered if she could do that too, but doing so meant that Han would rest here alone except for the company of the monster of a son.

It was always hard to bury a child, but even harder to bury one that had caused so much pain in the galaxy.

Leia approached the casket first, looking over the scarred face of Kylo Ren. The coroners had not given him the same treatment they gave other bodies, only doing the bare minimum. He was still dressed as a Knight of Ren sans the mask, his tunic darkly stained with blood and singed where Finn ran him through. 

It was hard to believe that the little boy they had loved and doted on grew up to be this man. In fact, he was hardly recognizable to them in this way.

They did not linger long before they turned back to the door to let their family inside as a group. Han and Leia had already done their grieving. They grieved for Ben Solo, but they would not do the same for Kylo Ren.

* * *

“Is this everything?” Finn peered into shuttle’s cargo bay, frowning at the four bags tossed into a corner.

“We didn’t have much to begin with,” Rey pointed out. 

They were packing their things up, getting ready to leave to Nimia Alpha, where Jannah was helping them settle into a small home on the outskirts of town. Leia had agreed that going to a less populous world would be best for the young couple right now. Already, a wave of politicians hoping to get the upper hand with the discussions of a new political system were seeking Finn and Rey out, looking for their favor. Unlike Luke’s final encounter with Darth Vader, Kylo’s final days were well documented and known by many stormtroopers trying to find new homes to settle. Naturally, word got out about how Finn killed Kylo and Rey took the title of Supreme Leader to attempt to end the war.

Nimia Alpha was the perfect place for them, at least, until they might decide on a new world in a couple of years once the chaos settled down. Finn would finally get to know his sister and Luke and Leia promised that they would stop in each standard month to check on them.

The First Order was not completely dealt with, however. Just like they expected, there were still some groups drifting in uncharted space that were still putting up a fight. The Resistance could map these groups out using the information they could lift from databases and the technicians that worked on them, making this job a little easier. Rey had offered to stay and help, but her father and aunt told her to go with Finn.

“We’ve got this.” Leia waved them away. “You two don’t need to keep fighting for us. You’ve done more than enough already.”

Given permission to retire from their duties, Finn and Rey agreed to take one of the shuttles confiscated from the First Order as their own. Rey loved the _Millennium Falcon_ and the A-wings she flew for the Resistance, but they did not belong to her.

“We’ll have to think of a name,” Rey told Finn when they first inspected their new transport. “And have Han help us make the right… modifications.”

Which Finn knew meant that soon they would have a First Order shuttle full of illegal modifications and equipment on their hands. It would be a good way to keep Rey and her uncle busy, in any case.

He wondered if he and his sister had anything in common… 

“When do you want to take off?” he asked Rey.

She shrugged. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Finn took a moment to think about if he had forgotten anything, nothing came to mind, but it wouldn’t hurt to double-check. “I’m going to go run through everything to make sure we didn’t miss anything,” he told her. “And I’m going to say goodbye to a couple of people.”

Rey nodded. “I think I’m going to do the same. It might be a while before we see them again.”

He went to their vacant quarters first, doing one last rundown to make sure nothing was left behind and found nothing there that hadn’t belonged to the Resistance. Then, he went through the corridors of the base, looking around for anyone that might be looming until he got to one of the quarters reserved for captives.

Knocking on one, Finn hoped that he hadn’t missed the occupants inside. People were leaving and being moved daily now. “Zeroes?” he called out.

There was a moment where he heard footsteps in the room before someone unlocked it and opened it to peer outside. “Finn!” his old friend exclaimed. “I thought you were already gone?”

“Soon,” Finn told him. “We’re about to leave, but I wanted to do one last round of the base to say goodbye to everyone.”

Holding out his hand to his old squadmate, Finn explained, “General Organa is going to give you a datapad before you leave. I told her to add in my contact information. Let me know when you settle down.”

“I’m going with Nerf to keep an eye on Cardinal,” Zeroes explained. “He still wants to go after Phasma, but we’re hoping that we’ll find a spot he’ll want to settle down in.”

“Keep me posted,” said Finn. “And tell Cardinal to behave himself. I’ll go after him myself if he stirs up trouble.”

Zeroes laughed and held out his hand, which Finn took firmly. “I’ll drag him along for a visit sometime, when you settle down. See you around Eight-Seven.”

Finn shook his head at the old name. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he last heard it. “See you soon.”

* * *

He found the Tico sisters next, also getting ready for their own departure.

“So you found a place to settle?” he asked them as he leaned against the doorframe of their quarters. 

“I got a scholarship to study engineering on Coruscant,” Rose chirped excitedly. “Showed off a couple of my power bafflers and impressed some hot-shot department head.”

Their quarters looked as bare as Finn and Rey’s had, and the sisters had even less than them, stuffing all they owned into one bag for each of them. 

Paige smiled. “You’ll have to come see us sometime. We’ll show you around like real locals by then.”

“We’ll be looking forward to it.” He beamed before he gathered them both into a tight hug. “Stay safe, you two.”

“We’ll be fine,” said Rose. “Paige and I have each other.”

Next came Poe, who was working on Black One alongside BB-8. Unlike Finn and many others, Poe was staying on to help the effort of putting an end to the small factions of the surviving First Order.

Excitedly, BB-8 rolled around Finn’s legs, beeping rapidly so that Finn could not understand him. The droid then rolled off, announcing Rey’s arrival inside the hangar. She stood by Finn and looked over Poe’s handiwork.

“Coming to say goodbye?” he asked.

Finn shook his head. “Not goodbye.”

Poe grinned. “No, not goodbye,” he agreed. 

“More like _See you later,”_ suggested Rey.

“I’ll visit you guys when you settle,” Poe promised. “Though if you guys are near Yavin, stop by sometime. I think you’d like it. We’ve got some old Sith temples and a Force tree.”

“Really?” Rey’s eyes widened.

“Yep,” replied Poe. “My mom planted it… Actually, your dad was the one to give it to her.”

He moved forward to hug both of them. “I’m really glad you saved my life, you know,” he laughed. “We couldn’t have stopped the First Order without you.”

“You helped too, Poe,” Finn pointed out. “You’re the one that blew up Starkiller.”

“Take some credit for yourself,” chuckled Rey.

Poe let go of Finn with a bright smile. “You all packed?” he asked. “I’ll see you off.”

Goodbyes were never easy, but at least they knew as their transport hovered over the tarmac that it wasn't forever. Finn and Rey had found something they once never thought they would get: a family. And what was far more important to them was they still had each other. Even if the war hadn't come to a total halt yet, the Resistance was confident that the worst was over. Finally.

Leia, Luke, Han, Lando, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 were waiting for them on the hangar floor. There were smiles on their faces, even if a few of them seemed sad. Luke specifically looked like a father about to become an empty-nester, though he also said he would check in on them frequently. Finn wondered if it hurt Luke to let his daughter go off on her own so soon after they found each other again and Finn felt a little heartache over leaving his master so soon after his training had begun. No doubt that Rey would continue to help him out and Luke was only a call away, but he had learned so much that he couldn't help but feel the tug at his heart. 

"We ran a pre-flight check for you," Lando said, nodding to Han and Chewie. "You're all set to go."

Luke looked at the two duffel bags that the paired held in their hands. "Is this all you have?"

"We never had much." Rey shrugged.

This time, Leia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her niece. "We'll make sure you get a couple of nice housewarming gifts," she laughed. "If your new neighbors haven't seen to it first."

Finn almost paled at the though. "Oh, sithspit!" It was the first time many of them witnessed Finn cursing, bringing Luke and Lando, specifically, to widen their eyes with shock. "I hope Jannah doesn't throw one of those neighborhood parties she kept telling me about when we get there!" As much as he was excited to get to know his family, finally, Finn also knew he and Rey would be tired after the long journey.

Leia chucked. "So you have a soldier's mouth after all, Finn." She moved in to hug him as everyone else started to give their parting embraces to Rey and waited to give Finn the same. "I can't wait to meet Jannah, but I'm sure you have a lot of getting to know each other first." She squeezed his hand before letting go of him.

"See you soon, kiddo," Han was the last one to give Rey a hug. "Got everything?"

"We'll be fine," she assured him before she looked over at her father. "Dad?"

"I forget that you're an adult now," he breathed. "All those years away from you..." He paused before he brushed a strand of hair stuck along her cheek. "I'm proud of you."

Looking like she was about to cry, Rey wrapped her arms quickly around him. "I'll always be your little girl," she reminded him. "Nothing changed that. Nothing will."

She turned to pick up her duffel bag and looked back at Finn. "Let's go to our new home," she told him with a smile.

Finn never thought he would ever feel so excited to hear something so simple.

* * *

The sunset on Nimia Alpha glowed a bright orange, looking almost like fire. It was common in the summer months, they were told, and sometimes took time to get used to. The days were longer and that meant that families and friends had more time to visit outdoors in the sunshine. The best part was that the weather was comfortable, not freezing like Starkiller or scorching like Jakku. They would want to stay outside in this kind of weather.

Jannah showed them the small home she scouted out for them, a gift from the locals to their heroes. Already decorated, Finn and Rey would not need to worry about the essentials... well, not until they wanted to _expand_ their family a little more, and Jannah hinted with a wink that some of the older people in the town hoped that would be soon.

It wasn't that the concept was completely out of the question, but Finn and Rey wanted to take a few years to themselves to learn to live normal lives in a post-war galaxy before they brought any new additions into the world.

Finally left alone, Finn walked outside to the balcony of the home, looking over at the view of the grass fields and the sunset. Following behind him, Rey settled next to him, leaning against the railing as she placed her arm around his lower back.

"Home," Finn said, looking at Rey with a fond smile.

She leaned into him. "Home," she agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now after working on this AU for over a year, it's finally complete! I'll admit there were times that I regretted continuing the series after the first installment and would rather stick to single-story plots from here on out. 
> 
> While I still am working on edits on the werewolf AU story, I also have one last major multichapter coming up that deals with a darker plot. Of course, throughout the next six months, I'll also have many one-shots and ficlets getting published. I'm not sure how into fanfiction I will be after the release of _The Rise of Skywalker,_ but I am going to Disneyland in January, and I might be inspired to write one more series around the franchise. It may be that it'll finally be time for me to move on to another fandom or just stick to writing my original stories. 
> 
> For those of you that have been here from the start, thanks for all the support.

**Author's Note:**

> To be updated Staurdays.


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